Arthur Lira confirms that PP will merge with União Brasil after the elections.
One of the leading figures in the PP party, the Speaker of the House, met with the vice-president of União Brasil, Antônio Rueda, and confirmed the information after the meeting.
BRASILIA (Reuters) - One of the leading figures of the Progressive Party (PP), the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira, met with the vice-president of União Brasil (UB), Antônio Rueda, and stated after the meeting that there will be a merger between the two parties after the elections, Lira's press office reported this Saturday.
If the move comes to fruition, it could create a super-caucus in the Chamber of Deputies. Currently, the PP has 58 representatives and the UB, 51. Depending on the outcome of Sunday's elections, the two parties could surpass 100 federal deputies, in addition to electing politicians to other elective offices.
União Brasil was born from the merger of DEM and PSL, the party through which President Jair Bolsonaro was elected in the last elections, but from which he left on bad terms before joining PL. At the time of the merger that created União Brasil last year, PP participated in the negotiations, but they did not progress.
The PP is currently one of the most important parties that make up the Bolsonaro government, with the Minister of the Civil House and licensed president of the party, Ciro Nogueira, as its main figure.
Contacted for comment, Ciro Nogueira did not immediately respond. The acting president of the PP party, Cláudio Cajado, and the president of União Brasil, Luciano Bivar, also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
(Reporting by Maria Carolina Marcello and Ricardo Brito)