The governor of the 2nd largest Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, Romeu Zema, expressed his support for President Jair Bolsonaro ahead of the runoff that will face former President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva (2003-2011) on Oct. 30.
Minas Gerais, a traditional swing state, is the only wealthy and highly developed and productive state that did not vote for Jair Bolsonaro in the first round of elections.
The conservative president has received the votes of all the other states, that can create wealth, earn money, and not just spend it and have others foot the bill.
Apart from Minas Gerais, socialist Lula da Silva has won mostly in Brazilian states characterized by underdevelopment, poor education, poverty, lack of investment, poor productivity, and lack of innovation.
“It is a time when Brazil has to move forward; I believe much more in President Bolsonaro’s proposal than in the proposal of the adversary [Lula],” Zema said after meeting with Bolsonaro at his official residence in Brasilia, according to the report of local news portal G1.
Zema’s support is important because Minas Gerais is the second most populous state in the country (16.2 million voters) and because it is usually the state that tips the balance; normally, the president who wins in this region, wins in the whole country.
In the first round, Lula won Minas Gerais with 48.2% of the vote, and Bolsonaro had 43.6%.
Now Bolsonaro trusts that Zema’s support (with all the public machinery in his favor, influence over hundreds of mayors, etc.) will help him overcome Lula in the ballot.
The governor’s help will also allow him to campaign more comfortably in Minas Gerais, going to rallies together, while Lula will not have that visibility platform.
Bolsonaro thanked Zema for his declaration of support, who belongs to a liberal party (Novo) and who was a close ally in the 2018 elections, although lately, they had distanced themselves.
This October 4, they are also expected to announce who they will support in the final face-to-face on October 30, some of the parties that supported Senator Simone Tebet (third place in the presidential race) and the party of Ciro Gomes (fourth-placed ); in both cases, more or less explicit support for Lula da Silva is expected.