Alckmin denies commanding the economy in an eventual Lula government

The former governor of São Paulo, Geraldo Alckmin (PSB), candidate for vice on the plate of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) in the dispute for the Planalto, ruled out this Tuesday (13) taking over the Ministry of Economy in case of victory in the elections. in October.

When asked in Belo Horizonte (MG) about running the portfolio, he replied no, stating that his task is to be a co-pilot.

“I was once deputy to governor Mário Covas, in São Paulo, and deputy is a co-pilot. The task is to help, to collaborate with the government as a whole”, he declared during a conversation with reporters.

In recent days, members around Lula’s campaign have considered the possibility of Alckmin taking over the Ministry of Economy.

According to Reuters, the choice of minister will be made by Lula only after the elections – in the event of a victory for the pair, which leads the opinion polls –, seeking to reflect the alliances forged for the candidacy.

A key player in the campaign as a guarantor of the political and fiscal moderation that the former PT president wants to signal, Alckmin has been an interlocutor for representatives of various economic sectors. A former historical opponent of Lula —he ran against the PT for the Planalto in 2006—, the former toucan is well-regarded by businessmen and the financial market for being identified as a voice at the center of the political spectrum.

The political stature and the accumulation of positions of the former governor weigh against a possible nomination. If Alckmin is in fact raised to the command of the Farm in case of victory at the polls, the arrangement could be politically more complicated to be undone. In case of dissatisfaction, removing him would open a crisis in a crucial portfolio and involving an already powerful deputy, also seen as ballast of fiscal responsibility.

It would not be the first time, however, that Lula had a vice president occupying a post on the Esplanade of Ministries — albeit in a much less sensitive portfolio than the Treasury. Business leader José Alencar, PT’s deputy in his two terms in the presidency between 2003 and 2010, was his defense minister for just over a year in his first term, having left office to run in the following elections.

Before arriving in Belo Horizonte, Alckmin fulfilled an agenda in the interior of the state. In the morning, he met with businessmen from the tourism sector in Poços de Caldas, in the south of Minas.

In the afternoon, he had another meeting with businessmen, this time in the agriculture sector, in Uberlândia, in the Triângulo Mineiro.

The two meetings in the interior, as in Belo Horizonte, were attended by the PSD candidate for the state government, the former mayor of Belo Horizonte, Alexandre Kalil.

In the capital, the candidates visited the Santa Casa de Misericórdia. A meeting with representatives of social movements is also planned.

Alckmin’s trip to Belo Horizonte also included a visit to the president of the CNBB, Dom Walmor de Oliveira. The candidate, however, denied electoral motivation at the meeting.

“Let’s talk. There is no electoral objective. I am Catholic, my father was a seminarian, he studied theology for four years, but we never mix politics with election,” he said.

“The important thing is Christian values, which should guide our lives. The important thing is to listen [o representante da CNBB]as we did with evangelicals last week in São Gonçalo, Rio de Janeiro,” he added.

Voting intention polls show that Catholics prefer Lula, while evangelicals opt for Bolsonaro.

While in Belo Horizonte, Alckmin criticized the president and his government.

“Brazil has moved backwards. In the democratic area, a candidate who misses the dictatorship and torture, in the economy, 33 million Brazilians are starving,” he said.

“Food inflation reaches 30%, in some products, more than 50%. Education, without a project, and, in health, denying vaccine. Three things changed the world: treated water, vaccine and antibiotic”, he said.

(With Reuters)