Pacheco’s succession! Who?! Alcolumbre? Not him!

Pacheco’s succession divides acronyms of the ruling base in the Senate; see who is in the race

Re-elected in February with the support of the Presidential Palace, the president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), has seen a collapse in the alliance he formed around his candidacy and may face a split between parties of the government base in the dispute for his succession. Even with a year and a half to go before the election of the command of the House, MDB and PSD have been moving to launch proper names, contrary to the intention of the senator from Minas Gerais to return the chair to Davi Alcolumbre (Union-AP), his predecessor in the chair

Pacheco faces difficulty even in convincing his party to support Alcolumbre, a kind of “g brown eminence” of the president of the House and seen behind the scenes as a natural substitute for the current occupant. After the president of the Senate is ventilated as the name of the third way in 2022, allies estimate that it is down. Although interlocutors claim that Pacheco is a name in the race for the government of Minas Gerais, he may encounter difficulties even in trying to be re-elected to the Senate, since he has already been harassed by bolsonaristas and is considered a conservative by the left. A few months ago, it was also speculated for a vacancy in the Federal Supreme Court (STF), but the discussions cooled down.

The president of the PSD, Gilberto Kassab, wants to maintain the protagonism of his party in the Senate and even invited Alcolumbre to leave the Union to join the legend, but there was no agreement.

With 15 senators, the largest bench in the House, the PSD sees an internal dispute to know who could be the candidate. One of the possibilities cited by Kassab is Senator Otto Alencar (PSD-BA), current leader of the party and with good traffic both in the base and in the opposition. Senator Eliziane Gama (PSD-MA) has also released her name, with the flag of becoming the first woman to occupy the position, but states that it depends on the endorsement of the acronym.

– It’s an internal discussion, which they will know how to conduct, with Rodrigo (Pacheco) and Otto leading and listening to everyone – Kassab told GLOBO.

In the MDB, Senator Renan Calheiros (AL), who presided over the House on four occasions, does not hide the intention of returning to the post. He has said behind the scenes that his party needs to resume command of the Senate and advocates an internal discussion later this year. Eduardo Braga (MDB-AM) is also among the possible candidates.

Government support

Within this scenario, the support of the PT bench and, more than that, the government structure, can be fundamental to define the dispute. Petistas say that the scenario is open and do not close the doors to any candidacy within the base. MDB, PSD and União Brasil are close to the Plateau in the Senate. For now, Renan and Alcolumbre are the ones who have moved the most.

Renan has been discussing scenarios with Kassab, to whom he is close. Their intention is to tie an agreement that involves all parties at the base of the government, which would include Renan and Alcolumbre in the same group, a scenario that is seen as uncertain at the moment.

As the negotiations move forward, the legends of the base try to attract more senators to fatten their benches and have the preference when choosing a name if there is a consensus on the need not to split the base.

The MDB, for example, has already managed to join Alessandro Vieira and also tries to attract the leader of the government in Congress, Randolfe Rodrigues, to have the argument of being the largest bench. Likewise, the PSD, the largest today, joined Mara Gabrilli (SP) and Eliziane Gama (MA).

In the opposite direction, the Union lost Rodrigo Cunha (AL) and Soraya Thronicke (MS). Despite this, Alcolumbre’s interlocutors rule out that he leaves the party. Leaders of the legend have treated their candidacy as a priority and, although they aim to command the two legislative houses, the assessment is that the senator is more likely to win the Senate than Congressman Elmar Nascimento (Union-BA) to succeed Arthur Lira (PP-AL).

In addition to government support, a bloc of approximately 30 senators who are now part of the opposition is also coveted by possible candidates to command the Senate.

Even allied to the government, Alcolumbre, who is president of the Constitution and Justice Commission (CCJ), has been nodding to the group, such as by letting the discussion about the time frame run and choosing opposition senator Marcos Rogério (PL-RO) to report the text. The government is against the issue.

Opposition in the crosshairs

The movement aims to attract a group of senators dissatisfied with the strategy adopted by the opposition in the last election, when they launched Rogério Marinho (PL-RN) and, in addition to being defeated, was left without a place on the Board of Directors. Now, the name of Davi Alcolumbre is defended even by Jair Bolsonaro’s allies.

– Davi is very strong and I have a lot of sympathy in supporting him – says Senator Ciro Nogueira, president of the PP, a party that has six parliamentarians in the House.

Bolsonaro’s former minister met with the Secretary General of the Union, ACM Neto, last week to discuss the party’s support for Alcolumbre’s candidacy in 2025.

The movement, however, is not a consensus in the group. Allies of the former president once again intend to challenge the ruling candidate by launching an opposition name. The most cited for 2025 is that of Senator Tereza Cristina (PP-MS), although she herself still does not admit this possibility.

– It’s all just speculation – said the senator.

Tereza is Jair Bolsonaro’s former Minister of Agriculture and one of the main leaders of the ruralist caucus in Congress. His party, despite remaining mostly as an opposition in the Senate, is now part of the Lula government, with Congressman André Fufuca in the Ministry of Sports.

– We will have to bet on a female figure and that name is Tereza Cristina. She would certainly even add government leaders—said Damares Alves (Republicans-DF).

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