Governor Raquel Lyra (PSDB) dismissed this Tuesday (30) positions appointed by PL members in the Government of Pernambuco. The action takes place amid turmoil in her relationship with the party in the Legislative Assembly and could pave the way for a future alliance between the manager and PT, President Lula’s party.
The PL’s departure from the government was articulated by Raquel after dissatisfaction with the conduct of state deputies from the party. Former president Jair Bolsonaro’s party had nominations at Detran (State Department of Traffic) and ProRural (State Support Program for Small Rural Producers) in Pernambuco.
The PP, led by federal deputy Eduardo da Fonte in the state, should occupy the vacancy at Detran. The party has been the most loyal to the governor when voting on projects in the Assembly, while the PL has 3 of its 5 deputies in opposition and only 1 member of the bench allied with Raquel Lyra.
The movement also paves the way for a future invitation for the PT to join the government, aiming for an alliance for the 2026 elections. The expectation is that conversations with the PT members will only take place after the municipal elections.
The PL’s departure from the government is motivated by the absence of pro-Raquel Lyra votes in the party’s bench in the Legislative Assembly. Bolsonaro’s party’s criticisms of the governor are mainly on issues of public security, a thorny area for the current administration.
In Pernambuco, the PL is chaired by the former mayor of Jaboatão dos Guararapes Anderson Ferreira, an ally of the party’s national president, Valdemar Costa Neto. The party has another wing, more linked to Bolsonaro, led by former Tourism Minister Gilson Machado Neto, pre-candidate for mayor of Recife.
Behind the scenes, Anderson and Gilson are fighting for protagonism in the PL. Pragmatic, Anderson was the one who sponsored the alliance with Raquel Lyra at the beginning of her government, in 2023, while the more ideological wing of the party has been critical of the governor.
Currently, the government is seeking victory in the Assembly in a project that proposes the gradual extinction of Military Police salary bands by 2026. But the PL and other opposition parties, such as the PSB, want to bring forward the end of salary bands to 2025 or even rather, going against the government, which claims it does not have the budgetary conditions to make this move.
In the Recife elections, the divergence is consolidated, with the PL having the candidacy of Gilson Machado, while Raquel will support the former deputy and state secretary of Tourism Daniel Coelho (PSD).
For 2026, Raquel Lyra is considering changing parties. PSD and MDB are the most popular for possible migration. The PSDB’s loss of steam and the possibility of running for re-election in a party with more political muscle and party background are the components of the equation.
Around the governor, possible support for Lula in 2026 is not ruled out. PT members from Pernambuco say, with reservations, that the president would not refuse support along with that of the mayor of Recife, João Campos (PSB), who could be a candidate for governor against Raquel if re-elected this year.
Members of the PT have already publicly stated that, with the PL in government, a possible collaboration with the governor would be impossible. Now, the movement opens the flank for new evaluation. Those around Senator Humberto Costa do not rule out a candidacy for re-election on Raquel’s ticket. Palácio do Campo das Princesas also sees chances for the alliance.
The matter, however, is not pacified within the PT. Recife’s Environment Secretary, Oscar Barreto, a member of the João Campos administration, says that the future of the party in the state has to be alongside the current mayor.
“The party is bigger and fulfills the task of reinforcing the Popular Front [coalizão política do PSB]. In the PT, today, there is a large group allied with Governor Raquel, including the state bench, which is even trying to run for office. [no Recife] to have the support of the governor”, he says. “What matters most today is the leadership that João Campos exercises in Recife and Pernambuco, and no longer discussing personal interests.”
The PT positioned itself as opposition to Raquel, but the party’s three state deputies have frequently voted in line with the state government, including the former mayor of Recife João Paulo. His own possible candidacy has been encouraged behind the scenes by Palácio do Campo das Princesas, to hinder João Campos and force a second round, but the idea has not progressed so far.
Last week, Raquel received members of the MST (Landless Rural Workers Movement) together with state deputy Rosa Amorim (PT) at the government headquarters. Photographs of the meeting angered members of the PL and exposed the closeness of the PT wing to the government.
The dissatisfied PT wing believes that João Campos does not treat the party adequately in the dispute for the vice-presidential spot on the mayor’s ticket. As revealed by Sheetthe mayor articulated the affiliation of four municipal secretaries to allied parties as alternatives for the vice position on his ticket.
João Campos resists giving up the seat to the PT, which wants to fill the vacancy in the expectation of taking over the mayor’s office in the event of the mayor’s resignation to be a candidate for governor in 2026.
The PSB prefers that a trusted ally of João Campos be the mayor’s deputy. In the party’s view, the four secretaries who allied themselves with João Campos’ base parties fit these criteria.
The municipal finance secretaries, Maíra Fischer (União Brasil); Infrastructure, Marília Dantas (MDB); of Planning, Felipe Matos (Republicans); and the chief of staff, Victor Marques (PC do B).
Still in the running, the PT has two names as pre-candidates for the vacancy: the advisor to the Ministry of Institutional Relations, Mozart Sales, and federal deputy Carlos Veras.
