The FBC project should return to Eduardo Campos' agenda.

PE247 - The major imbroglio surrounding the Workers' Party primaries for choosing the party's candidate in the Recife mayoral election could reignite an old project that once shook the Popular Front of Pernambuco: the candidacy of the Minister of National Integration, Fernando Bezerra Coelho (PSB). Last week, before all the confusion that resulted in the victory of the current mayor João da Costa, interlocutors of Governor Eduardo Campos, who nationally presides over the PSB, indicated that the governor would be willing to revive the "FBC project" if his Secretary of Government, Maurício Rands, lost the election. And, since the aide's defeat came amidst a series of allegations of irregularities in the election, including a legal battle in Pernambuco and a result that is sub judice, the socialist would be even more inclined to call on his party colleague for this fight.

However, Eduardo Campos must wait for the official announcement of the winner of the PT primaries in Recife, or even its annulment by the national leadership of the allied party. The socialist has already made it clear that he will not comment, much less act as a guarantor, until the PT members themselves resolve their internal issues. Campos, who already disapproved of the model chosen by the PT for selecting the candidate, is expected to distance himself from this complicated process.

Last October, the state PSB party released a statement revealing that Minister FBC had transferred his electoral domicile from Petrolina to Recife with the aim of being an option within the Popular Front of Pernambuco for the Recife mayoral race. At that time, Bezerra Coelho launched a series of criticisms of Mayor João da Costa's administration and asserted that the Pernambuco capital needed an administrative model similar to that implemented by Governor Eduardo Campos in the state.

Behind the scenes at the Palácio do Campo das Princesas – the seat of the Pernambuco state government – ​​it was always a recurring comment that Eduardo Campos disapproved of Mayor João da Costa's administration. Those close to the governor even considered seeking an alternative if the mayor failed to reverse his high personal and administrative disapproval ratings. Maurício Rands, for some of Eduardo's supporters, was seen as a way to change this situation without officially breaking with the PT (Workers' Party), with which Eduardo has a national alliance. FBC would be a tougher alternative, but with the desired effect for some sympathetic to the socialist.  

Alternative

Following the governor's position, there is the bloc led by Senator Armando Monteiro Neto (PTB). The so-called alternative factions of the Popular Front are awaiting an official position from Eduardo Campos to support a possible candidacy of Fernando Bezerra Coelho for Mayor of Recife or even launch their own candidacy. In the latter case, the group – formed by PTB, PP, PRB, PSC, PDT and PP – is studying the possibility of running in the municipal election with Senator Armando Neto himself at the head of the ticket. Other options would be the candidacy of state deputy Silvio Costa Filho (PTB) or the candidacies of federal deputies Eduardo da Fonte (PP), Carlos Eduardo Cadoca (PSC) or Paulo Rubem Santiago (PDT).