"I will go all the way and I will win the 2012 election."

Marco Damiani _ 247 – “I’ll go all the way and I’ll win,” Marta Suplicy exclaims in one breath, with a defiant smile. “I love this city too much not to fight for my dream of returning.” At ten o’clock on Thursday night, the 4th, the former mayor and senator, with 8,3 million votes, has just arrived from a meeting with residents of the Taboão da Serra neighborhood, on the southern outskirts of São Paulo. She is, it seems, ready to hold another meeting if necessary. “I love the contact with the public, unlike some others out there,” she quips, in a jab that seems directed at José Serra, a member of the PSDB party. When he was mayor, Serra told those closest to him that he didn’t like the responsibilities of the job. “He really doesn’t like it,” informed his then Secretary of Sub-Prefectures, Andrea Matarazzo.

“Today,” Marta continues, “what’s important for the residents of these neighborhoods is that the city functions, which is exactly what hasn’t been happening during (Mayor Gilberto) Kassab’s long administration.” “I’m going to get this city working again, continue the work I started and which is recognized by the people.”

The 66-year-old senator, a model of beauty and elegance for many women, is a perfect example of enthusiasm, as her opponents should know. She has organized her schedule to serve as Vice-President of the Senate during the week and spend the rest of her time traveling around São Paulo. “There are many things out of place,” she says. “It can’t stay like this. The city lacks planning and priorities.” She intends to build a government program based on consultations with as many social sectors as possible. Marta wants to expand, to grow beyond her 30% in voting intentions – which currently makes her the favorite in the still distant election. She believes that the physical works her administration left behind – such as the CEUs, large schools equipped with swimming pools, auditoriums, and special environments for teaching, leisure, and social interaction – combined with a government program that she hopes will have a significant contribution from the PT (Workers' Party), could give her the victory.

In her calculations, her biggest opponent has yet to reveal his intentions: Serra, of course. “It’s going to be one of those things where, at the last minute, he’ll have to be their candidate. He and they have no other alternative,” she believes, regarding the alliance between Kassab and Governor Geraldo Alckmin around Serra. “The PSDB cycle is over, the election will demonstrate that,” the candidate asserts. “So much so that, after all this time, they haven’t managed to put forward a competitive candidate as an alternative to Serra himself.”

But what about Marta herself, will she be the PT candidate?

“Look, I think the decision needs to be made as soon as possible, so we can have a broad, strong, and well-structured campaign based on a modern government program,” she says. Ahead, among the many obstacles every pre-candidate faces, Marta will have to overcome one major hurdle: former president Lula, who is behind the scenes encouraging the candidacy of the current Minister of Education, Fernando Haddad. “Lula will undoubtedly understand that there won't be time to turn a candidate unknown to the general public into someone known and electorally viable,” says Marta, cautiously but firmly. “This is a different election from the one he conducted with Dilma, because in the presidential campaign she was a minister and he had time to present her correctly.” Confident, Marta reaffirms: “I am the natural candidate,” using the same phrase that, this Friday the 5th, summarizes her interview with the newspaper Valor Econômico. "The PT cannot take risks here. The party that wins the municipal elections in São Paulo emerges as the winner of the election throughout Brazil," he reminded 247 in the informal conversation that resulted in this note.