Patrus Ananias becomes PT's alternative to the Government of Minas after former mayor's refusal

Lula received around 30 campaign assistants at Palácio da Alvorada, such as senator Camilo Santana (PT-CE) and former minister Gilberto Carvalho. There, the national president of the PT, Edinho Silva, stated that there is an expectation of choosing the head of the ticket this week.

The president endorsed his speech, stating that the names of Minas Gerais need to be defined soon. The meeting lasted around three hours and was Lula's priority, who needed to shorten an agenda with Defense Minister José Múcio, according to people who were at the president's official residence.

The impasse in Minas Gerais initially involved the objection of the PT from Minas Gerais to the launch of another party's name. Former mayor of Belo Horizonte Alexandre Kalil (PDT) is tipped to run and wanted to gather support from the left. Even without the endorsement of PT members, he maintains his pre-candidacy.

Furthermore, Marília resisted calls for her to run for government. According to reports, she considered the possibility of not running for any position if they insisted that she enter the race for the Palácio da Liberdade.

The former mayor of Contagem is a pre-candidate for the Senate. According to allies, she believes she has a better chance of being elected senator than governor. One of the arguments is that the PT could not risk losing a seat in the House, in which Bolsonarists plan to have a majority from 2027, to sacrifice it in a difficult election for the state government.

As the PT officially defends its own candidacy, the name of the former mayor of Belo Horizonte Patrus Ananias began to appear as the party's alternative.

A veteran of the party, Patrus, 74, was mayor in the 1990s. He was also Lula's minister in the first PT terms, from 2004 to 2010 (Social Development) and in the Dilma Rousseff government (Agrarian Development), between 2015 and 2016.

Still at this Tuesday's meeting, the name of the Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira (PSD), was presented by the president as a new member of his campaign command, with the task of organizing the platform in Minas.

The state is considered crucial for presidential campaigns. Since 1950, a president has not been elected without winning the majority of votes in that state.

In addition to Minas, Edinho stated that the party should define its candidacy in Goiás, where a wing of the party still insists on the name of PT deputy Adriana Accorsi for the government. She, however, has already launched her candidacy for re-election to the Chamber of Deputies.

According to participants, the meeting was called for a general presentation of the campaign areas and planning of activities until the August 2nd convention. The minister of the General Secretariat of the Presidency, Guilherme Boulos (PSOL), spoke, for example, about the launch of pre-campaign committees.

Lula also listened to the report on the preparation of the government plan for the next four years. According to participants, the PT member was optimistic for the elections, repeating that the idea is to show how he received the government of his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro (PL), and how it will be handed over to the Brazilian.

Once again, the president said that the challenge will be to show the population everything that was done during his administration, since, in his words, not even all PT members are aware of the actions implemented.

The president also reiterated that he did not discriminate against mayors due to their partisan color, but that his work often does not reach the end.

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