Coordinator of the Minas Gerais bench in the National Congress, deputy Luiz Fernando Faria in an interview with O TEMPO Brasília | Photo: O TEMPO Brasília
The unfriendly climate in the PSD of Minas Gerais was brought to the attention of the party’s national president, Gilberto Kassab. The split became more open after one wing of the party did not agree with the actions being taken by the party’s president in the state, state deputy Cássio Soares. He, who was vice-president, took charge after Alexandre Silveira left the position to dedicate himself to the Ministry of Mines and Energy.
In an interview with THE TIME Brasília, last Tuesday (14), the coordinator of the Minas Gerais bench in the National Congress, federal deputy Luiz Fernando Faria, told details about the imbroglio. Critical of Cássio Soares, the parliamentarian complained that the PSD was part of the allied base of the governor of Minas Gerais, Romeu Zema (Novo), in the Legislative Assembly. He considers the attitude incoherent since, in Brasília, the party supports President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT).
“We didn’t expect him (Cássio Soares) to lead the party into the Zema government because it is a little incoherent. We are here in President Lula’s support base, and with all these problems that the State government is going through, the PSD has part of the bench. Even with the deputy justifying that the bench is supported, we know that there is also disagreement there, state deputies who do not agree with this”, he stated.
According to Luiz Fernando Faria, upon bringing this and other facts to Kassab’s attention, he was “very surprised”, including delayed salaries within the party in Minas due to lack of payment conditions for the transfer of the party fund. “So, the party’s situation there is not good, and there is a very big division in the bench, even with the current president saying that there is not,” he assured.
The arrival of municipal elections next year is what has added even more fuel to the fire in the party’s divisions. The coordinator of the Minas Gerais bench declared that one of the ways to resolve this situation is Kassab’s decision on the issue. “He has to reflect and see what he has to do in Minas Gerais because it is really divided, the environment and the climate within the party are very bad. This is a true fact, there is no way around it.
“Fuad Noman is queen of England, she does not govern”
The federal deputy also spared no criticism of the mayor of Belo Horizonte, Fuad Noman, whom he called the queen of England. Faria recently invited one of the “political rivals” of the head of the municipal Executive, the president of the City Council, Gabriel Azevedo, to join the party. Azevedo intends to run for PBH in the next municipal election.
“In a meeting we held at the party about 90 days ago, I told him that I didn’t understand him handing over the city hall to the secretary (of Government of Minas Gerais), Marcelo Aro. He practically handed over five secretariats to the State government, while our political project is another. So, it is inconsistent for our party to do this,” he explained.
“And the mayor claimed that because of governance he would have to make this decision. Now, more than that, he delivered to everyone. My understanding today is that the mayor today is the Queen of England, she doesn’t govern anything. He handed over Belo Horizonte City Hall to several parties, and he no longer has command, in my understanding,” he added.
The political project that the parliamentarian refers to is further away, from 2026. They want to launch the current president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), for the government of Minas Gerais. Last week, the miner said that, at the moment, he is focused on other projects, but that he does not rule out the possibility: “My personal desire is this, now, of course this definition is a personal definition, it goes through him, but He’s more excited.”
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