Castelo wants Gardênia as Eliziane's running mate.

Jorge Vieira's Blog - Congressman João Castelo is trying behind the scenes within the PSDB party to secure a spot for his daughter, former state representative Gardênia Castelo, on the ticket of São Luís mayoral candidate Eliziane Gama. According to the agreement with the PPS party, the preference for the vice-mayor candidate rests with the PSDB, who will have to choose between her and former congressman Pinto Itamaraty.

Internally, Pinto has an advantage over Gardênia, partly because there's a kind of consensus within the group that she hinders more than she helps, given that she became stigmatized as the spokesperson for her father's chaotic administration, who left the São Luís City Hall owing money to civil servants and leaving his successor with an overdue debt of around R$ 1 billion.

The promise of a spot for Gardeninha on the ticket or in a hypothetical Eliziane government would have left Congressman and former mayor João Castelo smiling broadly in the photograph where the national president of the PSDB, Senator Aécio Neves, appears very uncomfortable declaring support for Eliziane. According to behind-the-scenes comments, if the PSDB appoints Pinto Itamaraty, the most likely candidate, João Castelo's daughter would have a guaranteed secretary position.

Faced with the maneuvering to secure a cushy job for the former mayor's daughter, a PPS leader contacted by the blog said that this was an internal matter to be resolved by the PSDB, which was given preference in nominating the vice-mayor candidate. "I'm sure they (the PSDB) will nominate the best candidate. I believe this decision will be made closer to the convention."