Former São Paulo governor João Doria (PSDB) announced that he withdrew from his pre-candidacy for the Planalto, giving in to pressure from the top of his party, which intends to support senator Simone Tebet (MDB-MS) and consolidate a single ticket called third way.
"I withdraw from the dispute with a wounded heart but with a light soul," he said, alongside his allies and his wife, Bia Doria. He got a lot of applause and wept at the end of the ten-minute speech.
PSDB president Bruno Araújo avoided saying that the endorsement for Tebet has already been defined.
Araújo declared that the discussion about his own candidacy, something still defended by the acronym, is over.
If this scenario is maintained, the PSDB will not launch a candidate for the presidency for the first time since re-democratization.
While party members were divided between laments and praise for an alleged detachment of Doria, opponents celebrated the collapse.
Bolsonarists attributed restrictions imposed by the São Paulo government in the coronavirus pandemic to the toucan's poor performance in polls.
Despite Doria having won the preliminaries, the acronym's direction wanted him to withdraw in order to sign an agreement with MDB and Citizenship.
He also faced resistance from former Gaucho governor Eduardo Leite, who rehearsed pre-campaign even though he was defeated in the internal election.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon