The race for the Senate has already begun in the PT (Workers' Party) of the Federal District.

Priscila Mesquita_Brasília247 – PT members from all over the country are meeting this Saturday (3) and Sunday (4), in Brasília, at the 4th National Congress of the Workers' Party. On the agenda, changes to the party statute, definitions of the current situation and resolutions on the 2012 elections. As there are no municipal elections in Brasília, the PT members in the federal capital are focused on 2014. One of the main articulations has in mind the only seat in dispute for the Senate, currently occupied by Senator Gim Argello (PTB).

In the race for the Senate are two prominent members of the Workers' Party (PT): Secretaries Paulo Tadeu and Geraldo Magela, both federal deputies who are responsible, respectively, for the Government and Housing portfolios. Magela hasn't missed an opportunity to promote himself to party members. Whenever approached by a PT supporter, usually complaining about the government, he recalls the dispute he had with Governor Agnelo Queiroz before the decision on who would be the candidate for the Palácio do Buriti (the governor's palace). Magela takes the opportunity to say that the party could have chosen him for governor and presents himself as a candidate for the Senate in 2014.

Paulo Tadeu has adopted a slightly less ostentatious tactic, but has already stated, including to the press, that he intends to run for re-election or will attempt "a flight to the Senate." He has preferred to talk to strong figures in the party to orchestrate his candidacy from above, from a high-level perspective.

Both deny the dispute. Paulo Tadeu, through his press office, states that he will follow the path decided by the party. Magela declined to comment on the matter. In practice, however, in addition to the two, their groups are also working intensely. Magela is from the Movimento PT faction. Paulo is from the Campo Democrático Socialista, better known by the acronym CDS. The two factions are practically the same size within the PT.

Agnelo's stance, for now, is discreet. Most PT members, however, believe that the candidate he will support will be Paulo Tadeu, due to their close relationship and his antagonism with Magela. What will certainly make the difference will be the support of the "Building a New Brazil" group, the largest faction within the PT, whose origins lie in the former Articulation. This faction includes the president of the PT-DF, federal deputy Roberto Policarpo, federal deputy Erika Kokay, and district deputies Chico Vigilante and Rejane Pitanga.

If the PT Congress does not create restrictions on holding primaries, as is expected, the negotiations preceding the Direct Election Process (PED) – tentatively scheduled for April of next year – will also be crucial in determining who will be the PT's candidate for the Senate race in 2014.

Magela has the advantage of a history within the party and extensive political experience. He ran for Governor of the Federal District in 2002, served as Secretary of Housing in Cristovam Buarque's administration, and is currently in his third term as a federal deputy. His current role in the government is linked to the Housing sector. In addition to heading the secretariat, he is also responsible for the Housing Development Company, which announces beneficiaries of the housing program. Relations with housing cooperatives also fall under Magela's purview.

Paulo Tadeu is emerging as a new name within the PT (Workers' Party) for a potential majoritarian ticket. Young and identified with this electorate, he served three consecutive terms as a district deputy and was elected to the federal level in 2010 with 164.555 votes, being the most voted candidate from the PT. In government, he has been expanding his powers each month. Recently, he managed to bring responsibility for Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) under his ministry, previously handled by Codeplan. In the corridors of Buriti (the seat of the government of the Federal District), Paulo Tadeu is also called the prime minister, such is the power he has accumulated in the eight months of government.