MDB breaks with Jorginho Mello's government and leaves its base in Santa Catarina.

247 - The MDB state directory in Santa Catarina announced on Monday night that it will withdraw from the administration of Governor Jorginho Mello (PL). The decision was made after the head of the state executive branch backed out of an agreement made with the party and officially named the mayor of Joinville, Adriano Silva (Novo), as the pre-candidate for vice-governor on his ticket for re-election this year.

The information was initially published by the newspaper. The GlobeAccording to the caption, the break occurred after internal meetings convened shortly after the governor's announcement last Thursday, which thwarted the MDB's expectation of securing the vice-governor position in the majority ticket.

The president of the MDB party in Santa Catarina, federal deputy Carlos Chiodini (MDB-SC), who is currently on leave, was the most likely candidate to join the ticket. He was the first to formally leave the state government, resigning from his position as Secretary of Agriculture, a role he had held since the beginning of the current administration.

Following Jorginho's announcement, the party met at a hotel in Florianópolis to deliberate on remaining in the allied base, as previously reported by... The GlobeAccording to Chiodini, the party will now proceed with political independence to advance in building its own "project" in this year's elections.

In a public statement, the MDB announced that it will open dialogue with other parties that share "the same principles, values, and ideals as the MDB." Party sources indicate that the talks may involve the PSD, União Brasil, and Progressistas (PP). In this scenario, a possible alliance could form around the mayor of Chapecó, João Rodrigues (PSD), a pre-candidate for governor who presents himself as a representative of the so-called "real right."

The state directory's directive is for all members to resign from their positions in the state administration. In addition to the Secretariat of Agriculture, the MDB party controls three other areas of government: the Environment, under the responsibility of Cleiton Fossa; Infrastructure, headed by state representative Jerry Comper (on leave); and the Santa Catarina Sports Foundation (Fesporte), presided over by Jeferson Ramos Batista.

"The party reaffirms that it will continue to support, within the Legislative Branch, all projects that are in the interest of the State and the population of Santa Catarina, maintaining its stance of institutional responsibility, even as it disassociates itself from the current Government," stated the MDB state directorate in the official statement.

The crisis was aggravated by what the party described as a breach of agreement. Last October, in an interview with Jovem Pan radio, Jorginho Mello had stated that the composition of the ticket for reelection would be built jointly with the MDB. "The vice-governor will be from the MDB, everything is already in place. There's not much stress. Just wait a little. We're going to take care of the state of Santa Catarina," the governor declared at the time.

The choice of Adriano Silva, however, surprised the MDB members and also reorganized the political landscape of the right wing in the state. In February 2025, the rapprochement between PL and MDB had already caused discomfort among Jorginho's Bolsonaro allies. At the time, federal deputy Júlia Zanatta (PL-SC) publicly questioned whether the "criterion" for the alliance had been "voting more with the Lula government".