Brazil PSDB party president acts as a “tightrope walker” in the dispute between Eduardo Leite and João Doria
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Since its foundation, in 1988, division has been a PSDB party trademark. The first process of previas to choose the party’s candidate for the Presidency of the Republic gave back national projection to the legend, but also reinforced the toucan characteristic, becoming a threat to the internal unity.
The primaries gained superlative levels of tension and put the former federal deputy Bruno Araújo, 49 years old, president of the acronym, in a position of “equilibrist” in the clash between governors João Doria (SP) and Eduardo Leite (RS).
One of the main cadres of the group that became known as “black heads” – a bloc of Toucan deputies who defended the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff (PT) – Araújo assumed the command of the acronym in May 2019 and acts so that the fierce fight between Toucan wings does not also threaten his permanence in the presidency of the legend.
He is often referred to behind the scenes in the party as “VAR”, the name of the mechanism adopted by FIFA for the electronic verification of dubious bids in soccer.
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In the face of mutual accusations of fraud in the affiliation of allies after the deadline established in the rules of the previas, Araújo established a criterion that excludes from the electoral college all members who signed the form after May 31st of this year.
The former deputy won points with the people of São Paulo, but displeased Leite’s team, whose front line includes the PSDB directories in Minas Gerais, Rio Grande do Sul and Ceará.
With a “canetada”, he had taken out of the game at the same time the 92 vice mayors of São Paulo who were contested, and the 32 affiliated supporters of the gaucho. In the internal math, Doria came out losing, but in the final reckoning, Araújo’s gesture was considered a diplomatic exit.
“The ordinance in which I called for the previas was a solitary decision,” Araújo told Estadão. “I have the clarity that the PSDB comes from a process of attrition due to the discrete result in the 2018 elections. That was the chance for the party to exercise a new kind of space in the national public scene.”
The president of PSDB admits that, at the end of the previas, “it will take time to heal wounds and demonstrate maturity to seek ways to strengthen the unity of the party.” “When the process ends there will be one wound or another open, but we need time.”
Araújo was elected president of the PSDB in 2019 with the support of Doria, who then emerged as the main name of the acronym after winning the dispute for the São Paulo state government.
In the chair of the party’s top leader, however, the former deputy became a kind of bulkhead to the attempts of the governor of São Paulo to promote a radical change in the legend, which included even changing the name and the end of the toucan as a symbol. “The party can’t change with the wind. It needs a minimum degree of stability,” Araújo justified.
A dinner in February of this year soured the relationship between the two toucans. According to reports from participants, the governor of São Paulo called a meeting in the residential wing of the Bandeirantes Palace to defend the expulsion of Aécio Neves (MG) from the party. During the conversation with 12 participants, however, Doria’s allies would have advocated that the governor assume the presidency of the PSDB in place of Araújo.
This event is classified behind the scenes in the party as ground zero of the previas, and also as a primary political error of the governor, who had then support to be the natural candidate for the Presidential Palace.
Last week, the presence of the president of PSDB drew attention in a delegation of businessmen led by Doria, who went to Dubai for business rounds with players from the Arab Emirates in the scope of Expo 2020. The Toucan went to the event as CEO of Brazilian Strategy Advice, name of his office – which provides consultancy services to UAE companies that operate in Brazil.
The trip coincided with the moment in which Araújo would have to give the final word on the accusations of alleged “fraud” in the affiliation of mayors from São Paulo. He participated in the first two days of events of the mission, before the governor landed there.
After Doria’s arrival, the PSDB president moved away from the entourage. “I have professional activity in the UAE. I traveled at my own expense and it coincided with being the week of São Paulo’s week at Expo 2020,” said Araújo.
The PSDB president assures that the decision to match the cases of mayors and vice-presidents of São Paulo and the affiliates linked to Leite was not a compensatory decision, but “the fixing of a criterion.” The criterion helped reduce the temperature in the Toucan cauldron.
“Bruno Araújo has tried to be impartial and correct in the conduct of the PSDB presidential prelims. He has the merit of being the first president of the PSDB in 33 years to promote previas to choose the party’s candidate for the Presidency of the Republic. He will leave a legacy,” said Doria. Eduardo Leite did not comment.
With information from O Estado de S. Paulo.
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