Marina Says She and Campos Are 'Possibilities' for 2014

10/10/2013 - 09h08

Three days after announcing her adherence to the electoral project of Eduardo Campos (PSB - the Socialist Party of Brazil), former senator Marina Silva reiterated to Folha that it was a fact that the Pernambuco Governor was making a run for the presidency, but said that both are "possibilities" and they know it.

Marina was interviewed for over an hour in the apartment where she said she came up with the idea of forming an alliance with the Governor, early Friday morning.

Folha - How do you define your decision to ally with Campos?

Marina Silva - Two questions were posed: I gathered myself in the comfort of my activism, and mostly started to think at that time that it was better not to be a candidate, we dedicated ourselves to the registration of Rede (Rede Sustentabilidade, the political party Mrs. Silva attempted to inaugurate), or the possibility of an anti-candidate. That to me would be comfortable.

Does this option complicate the break up of the polarization, as there are fewer opposition candidates?

Who will define the 2014 election is not TV time, nor is it a campaign structure. It is a position. This Brazil that arose in June [the widespread street protests], it wants a position.

Don't you fear losing votes?

Those who differ have the right not to vote, have the right to disagree, that's democracy. I am not God, and not everyone agrees [with] God.
Many people ask me: "Senator, was this revenge?" I say: it was an act in legitimate defense of hope; the hope of seeing that a programmatic alliance is possible.

Sergio Lima/Folhapress

"Who will define the 2014 election is not TV time, nor is it a campaign structure. It is a position. This Brazil that arose in June [the widespread street protests], it wants a position."

How will you handle the differences with PSB?

A tool to manage the difference is the program. Rede is not merging with PSB, I'm not a PSB activist. It is a transient democratic membership. I am the spokeswoman for Rede - Rede's activist. Rede is my party.

Are you ruling out your candidacy for President?

Both Eduardo and I discussed that we would not put this in advance, so as not to pollute our debate. We are not discussing, apart from what is in place, which is his candidacy, who will be here and there. For now we are not interested in arguing the positions. We are both possibilities and we know it.

Could you be a candidate for PSB?

If we start discussing a candidacy, we will do exactly the opposite of what I wanted: to discuss the program. It is another political time. The candidacy is already in place. We are discussing a program.

Do you consent to being Eduardo Campos' vice?

My opportunity is to work for the program and the candidacy of Eduardo Campos, which today represents his commitments to sustainability, social, environmental and cultural policies. This is my commitment, this is my task.

I have not spoken of a place at the head. The only thing I did say was that I recognize his candidacy, and I wanted to know if there was a willingness to deepen a programmatic coalition.

*

On the day after the interview, when asked again about the possibility of candidacy, Marina responded indirectly that those who "stripped" her candidacy were the electoral registry offices of the country, which, in rejecting the signatures of support that had been presented, made it impossible to create the Rede Sustentabilidade party.

"When I spoke of possibilities, I was saying that the candidacies in place are options for Brazil. Dilma [Rousseff] is a possibility for Brazil, Aécio [Neves] is a possibility for Brazil and the effort that Eduardo and I are doing from the programmatic point of view is a possibility for Brazil, because no one has a crystal ball to determine who is already the president," she asserted.

Translated by STEVE HUGHES

Read the article in the original language