The Sarney clan wants to isolate Lobão in the Senate race.
It is becoming increasingly clear that the oligarchy's strategy is to elect Sarney Filho and isolate Senator Edison Lobão, who is desperately fighting to keep his mandate and avoid being imprisoned by Operation Lava Jato.
Jorge Vieira's Blog - As expected, the pre-candidates for the Senate from the Sarney group began their internal battle for the mandate even before the Electoral Court authorized the start of the campaigns. It is becoming increasingly evident that the oligarchy's strategy is to elect Sarney Filho and isolate Senator Edison Lobão, who is desperately fighting to keep his mandate and avoid being imprisoned by Operation Lava Jato, as happened with former President Lula.
The feud between the two candidates from the oligarchy for the Senate is no longer confined to the limits of the MDB party; it has spilled onto the streets through posts by spokespeople for the former governor's group on the internet, stating that Roseana Sarney's allies do not intend to vote for or campaign for Lobão, citing the senator's close ties to Márcio Coutinho's PRTB party, a long-time ally of the Lobão family, as the reason for this stance.
The crisis within the Sarney clan is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, ever experienced by the oligarchy. In the past, oligarch José Sarney would bang his fist on the table, everyone would quiet down and obey the orders of the all-powerful boss. Now, with Operation Lava Jato on Senator Lobão's heels, the time has come, as the old saying goes, for "the cow not to recognize the calf," and the two are already exchanging heavy blows.
Lobão, if he loses his mandate, runs the serious risk of going straight to jail because of the Lava Jato investigations that point to him as a beneficiary of the bribery scheme that bankrupted Petrobras. Lobão is also accused by the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office of fraud at Eletrobras and will gamble everything on his reelection campaign. Sarney Filho, on the other hand, has made politics his professional career and refuses to be unemployed if Michel Temer's government ends, should he lose the Senate election.
And since all analyses point to Governor Flávio Dino electing at least one ally, with the best chances for Congressman Weverton Rocha (PDT), the fiercest contest should be between the two candidates from the clan who are going into the race knowing that one of them will be politically finished.
Now, can you imagine what this fierce dispute between the Sarney and Lobão families might bring to light?