in the first municipal convention of the Progressive Party (PP) in Rio Grande do Sul in 2023, held this Saturday (13), at the Porto Alegre City Council, two important decisions were taken. The current president of the party in the Capital, Vitor Alcântara, Vitinho, was reappointed to the position during the inauguration of the new directory, for the period from 2023 to 2026, and it was also declared the PP’s support for the re-election of Mayor Sebastião Melo (MDB).
“We don’t want to anticipate the election, we just want to anticipate the great conviction that we progressives have in the Melo administration and that this project, which has been working, will continue”, says Alcântara. For the race in the Chamber, the leader expects the PP to make a robust nomination, consolidating a group of four or five councillors. “It is a goal of the party to become one of the largest benches in the Chamber”, stresses the president. Today, the PP has three parliamentarians in the House: Ciá Carpes, Monica Leal and Comandante Nádia.
Regarding the support for Melo, the president of the progressives in Rio Grande do Sul, Celso Bernardi, points out that among the reasons for the decision are the care with which the mayor treats the city and the lack of a competitive name within the PP to contest the elections. in capital. “It is better for the party to invest mively in candidacies for councilor so that we have an expressive bench in the Chamber”, defends Bernardi.
In the State, the progressives have, according to the director, 145 elected mayors and for the next elections the objective is to elect an even larger number, from 150 to 160, remaining as the party with the largest number of municipal managers in Rio Grande do Sul.
The meeting this Saturday started at 9 am and Sebastião Melo joined the event around 11:15 am. Upon his arrival, the mayor won a straw hat, one of his “trademarks”, and several supporters and politicians present also put similar accessories on their heads. He was even received with a song that paraphrased the success of Gilberto Gil, Andar com fé, with the lyrics adapted to: “I’m going to walk with Melo, he doesn’t usually fail”.
The MDBista reciprocated the welcome given by the progressives, “I have a great affection for the PP, state and municipal, and I am very grateful for the contributions they have made in the changes that the city has produced”, stressed the mayor. About elections, Melo comments that the municipal scenario is not defined yet and prefers not to advance agendas of a probable campaign. “The candidacy is at the right time, now it’s time to work, to deliver, which is what we are doing”, he declared.
Melo was accompanied by the deputy mayor, Ricardo Gomes (PL), who has already been a member of the PP. “The time is to work until the last minute of the mandate and when the time comes to talk about the election”, added Gomes. Also present at the meeting, Senator Luis Carlos Heinze (PP) points out that Melo’s work is in line with the guidelines of the progressives.