Progressive camp begins conventions this Friday with the challenge of unity.
Party conventions for the October elections begin this Friday and present the challenge of unity for the progressive camp after the centrist bloc's support for Alckmin, which consolidated him as the right-wing candidate; the scenario is still uncertain and the PSB could be the deciding factor in determining who will head the ticket, Lula or Ciro.
By William De Lucca – National conventions begin to outline this Friday (20) the candidacies available to voters in this year’s elections and the progressive field should initially present four presidential candidacies, having the challenge of forging its unity after the right has united almost entirely around the Alckmin candidacy. The last day for conventions is August 5 and the deadline for registering candidacies is August 15.
On the first day of the conventions, Ciro Gomes will be officially nominated as the PDT candidate this Friday, but the party, still reeling from the loss of the centrist bloc as a potential ally, is not expected to go beyond simply confirming Ciro as the candidate.
On Saturday (21), PSOL will hold its convention in São Paulo, confirming the name of MTST leader Guilherme Boulos as its presidential candidate. His running mate has already been chosen: indigenous leader Sônia Guajajara. The party has the support of PCB, which will confirm its nomination a day earlier, also in São Paulo.
On Wednesday, August 1st, the PCdoB will hold its convention, and is expected to nominate state representative Manuela D'Ávila as its candidate, despite the uncertainty surrounding the communists. They are being courted by both Lula and Ciro Gomes. Manuela continues to affirm her candidacy, while the president of the PCdoB, Luciana Santos, has stated that the party considers a coalition capable of winning the elections essential. Adílson Araújo, president of the Central Workers' Union of Brazil (CTB), is expected to be the vice-presidential candidate.
On the eve of the deadline for conventions, the PT (Workers' Party) will confirm the name of former president Lula at a meeting in São Paulo on August 4th. Imprisoned in Curitiba for 104 days at the Federal Police headquarters, this will be the first PT party convention without the presence of the leading candidate. Lula is expected to be approved by acclamation. The PT postponed its convention, awaiting an agreement with the progressive camp. If there is an agreement, Ciro, Manuela, or a name from the PSB (Brazilian Socialist Party) will be considered. If no agreement is reached by then, one of the names being considered to complete the ticket with Lula is that of former Foreign Minister Celso Amorim. The party is expected to receive the support of the PCO (Workers' Cause Party), led by Rui Costa Pimenta.
On the last day of the deadline, Sunday (5), it will be the turn of the PSB, considered the deciding factor in the progressive field. Whichever side it leans towards (Lula or Ciro) will have enormous strength to have the top spot on the ticket in the October election. The possibility of the party, extremely divided internally, remaining neutral in the dispute is not ruled out.