Brazil’s three women governors of this election share pragmatic streak
Raquel Lyra stayed neutral during Pernambuco governor race
Leo Caldas/Valor
What do the three women elected governors in Brazil have in common? Raquel Lyra (Social Democratic Party, PSD) in Pernambuco, Celina Leão (Progressives Party, PP) in the Federal District, and Maílza Assis (PP) in Acre are trying to open a dialogue with the federal government to resolve major bottlenecks in their states. None of them, however, supported President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s (Workes’ Party, PT) reelection.
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Federal government help is crucial for them to fulfill campaign promises. In Lyra’s case, a rapprochement is essential to unblock construction on the Pernambuco stretch of the Transnordestina railway. Leão, in turn, depends on the federal government for financial relief for Banco de Brasília (BRB), while Assis needs to secure investments in the BR-364 highway, estimated at more than R$700 million.
After Sunday’s election, Governor Lyra, who did not take a position on the presidential race, congratulated President Lula and said she will keep “working together with the federal government with plenty of dialogue, institutional respect, and partnership.”
Lyra’s endorsement was sought by both Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro (Liberal Party, PL) in the runoff. Although she managed to get closer to the president during her first term, the governor defeated opponent João Campos (Brazilian Socialist Party, PSB) with 52.3% of the vote and support from the right and part of the left in the state. She declared neutrality as soon as the first-round result came out, with Flávio emerging as the favorite.
Whenever pressed to take a side, Lyra said she is neither a Lula supporter nor a Bolsonaro supporter, but a “pernambuquista,” or Pernambuco loyalist. The stance earned her much criticism from the left in Pernambuco, which demanded support for Lula as a gesture of gratitude for partnerships on major works in the state, but the prospect of having to serve a second term in opposition to a possible Flávio government did not appeal to her.
At 47, Lyra is known for her pragmatism. The state government depends directly on the federal government to obtain loans and the release of funds from the Growth Acceleration Program (PAC) for various road projects. The main one is the Pernambuco stretch of the Transnordestina railway, estimated at between R$5 billion and R$6 billion. It is currently awaiting new studies by the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU).
Elected in right-wing strongholds, Leão (PP) and Assis (PP), who explicitly backed Flávio, have already stepped down from the campaign stage and are seeking an institutional relationship with the federal government. Although Leão is very close to Senators-elect Michelle Bolsonaro (PL) and Bia Kicis (PL) and to Senator Damares Alves (Republicans), she is considered a pragmatic politician, avoiding the ideological rhetoric her allies adopt.
Celina Leão: Federal District governor-elect distanced herself from disgraced predecessor Ibaneis Rocha
Wenderson Araujo/Valor
The governor, 49, defeated Leandro Grass of the PT with 57.8% of valid votes on Sunday (25), confirming her status as favorite. In interviews during the week, she said the public expects her to be ready to talk with the president of the Republic, “whatever the scenario.”
Having stepped down from the campaign stage right after the election result, Leão is keeping alive her plan to secure help from the federal government to rescue BRB, which was hit by a hole estimated between R$5.5 billion and R$8.8 billion stemming from fraud involving Banco Master.
Leão distanced herself politically from former governor Ibaneis Rocha early this year, after he suffered intense damage from the BRB crisis. “I wasn’t Ibaneis’s governor, I was his deputy,” she said, always stressing that she had no say over the governor’s decisions.
With the distance, she managed to give her administration its own identity and keep her approval rating at reasonable levels—around 50%, according to polls released during the campaign. Despite the governor’s efforts, federal government help for BRB is considered a remote prospect. President Lula, still on the campaign trail, called the idea of rescuing the bank “preposterous.”
Like Leão, Assis reached the governorship as deputy governor. Former governor Gladson Camelí (PP) left her in the post for her failed Senate run. Assis, 49, defeated Senator Alan Rick (Republicans), who was Flávio’s official candidate in the state, with 66.21% of valid votes in the runoff.
Assis also supported the PL senator, who won in Acre with 66.6% of valid votes. To get elected, Assis formed an alliance with the Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB), bringing in former federal deputy Jéssica Sales as her running mate. The partnership added votes in Cruzeiro do Sul, in the west of the state, Acre’s second-largest electorate after the capital, Rio Branco. “She is quite pragmatic from the standpoint of coalition-building,” says Luci Maria Teston, a professor at the Federal University of Acre (Ufac) and coordinator of the Laboratory of Geopolitical Studies of the Legal Amazon (Legal).
The governor has said she will talk with the federal government to find lasting solutions for the BR-364 highway, one of her main campaign promises. The road faces structural, logistical, and contractual problems with the concessionaire.
Maílza Assis: governor-elect of Acre is seen as pragmatic
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