The re-elected governor of Minas Gerais, Romeu Zema (Novo, center), has decided to put his political capital at the disposal of the President of the Republic and candidate for re-election, Jair Bolsonaro (PL, right) to help him in the second round of the elections.
The governor invited the mayors of the 853 municipalities in the state to join the presidential campaign. So far, about 600 mayors have joined, said Marcos Vinicius Bizarro (PSDB, center-right), mayor of Coronel Fabriciano (MG) and President of the Association of Municipalities Mining (AMM).
“The individual mayors will offer the governor their full support for the policies pursued by Zema. I am one of them. I think the state is just recovering from the damage done by the government of Fernando Pimentel (PT, left) from 2015 to 2018, and we cannot risk losing all that,” said the mayor.
The mayors have already started posting videos on social networks defending the continuity of the measures adopted. “Today, the mayors enjoy the credibility the governor gave them when he began to pay on time. We have credibility among the people,” said Bizarro.
This afternoon (6), Bolsonaro and Zema must attend an event organized by the Federation of Industries of the State of Minas Gerais (Fiemg), where the industrial sector is expected to present proposals to the presidential candidate for the development of industry in the state. Other governors who have announced their support for Bolsonaro are also expected to attend the event.
During the event, scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m., Zema was expected to invite Bolsonaro to participate in an event with the mayor’s supporters in Belo Horizonte on May 14.
The candidate must come to the state at least three times before May 30, the day of the second round.
In Minas Gerais, the candidate for re-election will also be supported by Senator Carlos Viana (PL), Senator-elect Cleitinho Azevedo (PSC), and Federal Deputy President-elect Nikolas Ferreira (PL) to campaign mainly in the interior and northern region, where Lula received the most votes in the first round.
SWING STATE
Minas Gerais, a traditional swing state, is the only wealthy, 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.
Zema’s support is essential 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; typically, the President who wins in this region wins in the whole country.