Minister Tarcísio de Freitas (Infrastructure) sought out former São Paulo governor Geraldo Alckmin (PSDB) to try to lure him into an agreement with President Jair Bolsonaro (no party) in the state.
The idea was that Alckmin would maintain his candidacy for the Government of São Paulo. With this, Bolsonaro would not launch a candidate, favoring the migration of votes from his conservative voters to the former governor.
The common objective of the two could be more easily achieved: the defeat of João Doria's group (PSDB), whose candidate in SP will be the current vice-governor, Rodrigo Garcia (PSDB).
Alckmin would not need to support the president's re-election or go up on his platform. The president would not vote for the former governor either.
The counterpart of the agreement would be the launching of a candidate for the Senate, on Alckmin's ticket, who would support Bolsonaro and open a platform for the president in São Paulo.
The former governor could, for example, be a candidate for União Brasil (result of the merger of the DEM and the PSL) in an alliance with the PL, which could house the candidate for the Senate.
So far, with no defined platform in SP, Bolsonaro has seen Tarcísio as an alternative for a candidacy for the government of São Paulo. The minister, however, would prefer to run for the Senate in Goiás, a state where he could, according to supporters, be "elected without leaving his house."
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon