The governor of Minas Gerais, Romeu Zema (Novo), shows that he does not intend to leave public life after completing his second term as head of the state Executive, in 2026. Although he is not eager to participate in the next presidential election, Zema says that, If he does not participate in a new election, he intends to act as a kind of “ambassador” for the New.
The possibility was mentioned by him this Tuesday (23), during a coffee with journalists in Belo Horizonte. The idea, according to Zema, would be to act as an interlocutor capable of helping party colleagues to expand the Novo. Therefore, the governor mentioned the term “ambassador”.
When dealing with the 2026 elections, although he avoided being asked about a possible participation in the presidential race, Zema signaled that he should not seek a seat in the Chamber of Deputies or the Federal Senate. He said he did not have the appropriate profile to occupy positions in the Legislature.
Union of governors
To the press, Zema spoke about the unions with former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) in the 2018 and 2022 elections. According to him, the alliances took place, above all, because both do not agree with the political platform of leaders on the left. “We have a common adversary,” he pointed out.
The governor also spoke about the need for right-wing leaders to unite in the presidential race. Bolsonaro, it is worth remembering, was declared ineligible by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) until 2030.
During the conversation, Itatiaia questioned Zema about the name he sees as ideal to represent the right in the next election. In response, the Novo politician cited governors Ratinho Júnior (PSD-PR), Ronaldo Caiado (União Brasil-GO) and Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicanos-SP).
There was also a mention of Eduardo Leite (PSDB-RS), although the Novo politician classified the Gaucho as someone less to the right than the others mentioned.
Changes in the New
In Zema’s view, João Amoêdo, former national president of Novo, was one of the “architects” of the ideals followed by the party. Despite this, he pointed out disagreements in the way Amoêdo led the party, mentioning an episode in which they both disagreed about the strategy to be adopted in the 2020 election — Zema wanted to have tickets in at least 25 cities in Minas Gerais, while Amoêdo defended more modest numbers .
At the same time, the governor pointed out that other leaders of the party, like himself, helped to polish the practices of the association, which, after repeatedly launching pure-blood tickets, already admits the need to establish alliances, like the coalition of ten parties that helped Zema to be re-elected in 2022.
