June 3, 2022

09:06

Priscilla Peixoto – From Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS – “I was the mayor who did more day care centers and schools in Três Lagoas, who delivered houses to women. The first one to govern my city, to command the Commission to Combat Violence against Women, in Congress, candidate for the Senate Presidency, and president of the Commission of Constitution and Justice. For me, being a feminist is not about one or two agendas. I refuse to think that the left has the right to say that only leftist women are feminists”, said Senator Simone Tebet (MDB-MS), pre-candidate to the Presidency of the Republic.

The senator’s speech is an answer to a question made during an interview to Veja Magazine (June edition of this year). Tebet highlighted points considered, by her, important during her political career, especially in her hometown (Três Lagoas – Mato Grosso do Sul), and when asked why she never talked about feminism issues, besides having been more connected to right-wing politics, with conservative agendas, Simone said she never “needed to talk about the theme because she was in the Executive branch and not in the Parliament”.

The pre-candidate, who comes to represent the third way in the 2022 presidential elections, denies that she is a “front candidate” and says she counts on the support of the largest center party, the MDB, besides the electorate that comprises the states of Rio Grande de Sul, Santa Catarina, Paraná, and Mato Grosso.

“There is no façade candidacy when you are the candidate of the biggest party in the center. (…) I just need the legend, the radio and TV time, and real friends. When people say that the MDB tends more towards Bolsonaro than towards Lula, it’s true, that’s why they sought me out. They understand that the party cannot be tied to someone who has ideas that flirt with authoritarianism. But the same people who say they would go for Bolsonaro, if I am a candidate, will be with me,” says Tebet.

Support

The senator’s participation in the dispute of this year’s election receives the support of businessmen, mainly from the State of São Paulo. Companies such as Metalfrio, Votorantim, Klabin, Suzano and JBS are some of those highlighted by Tebet. “I already had a relationship with the São Paulo business community because I looked for São Paulo industries to open branches in Três Lagoas (…) The fact that they chose me only increases my responsibility and reaffirms that we are on the right track”, the pre-candidate reveals to Veja Magazine.

Breaking polarizations

Compared to the 2018 elections, when the former senator and former minister Marina Silva ran for the presidency through Rede Sustentabilidade and got only 1% of the votes, Simone Tebet, in this year’s election, does not show fear of defeat and does not intend to expose, at this first moment, her government program.

With 2% of the voting intentions, according to data from the latest Real Time Big Data survey, the pre-candidate highlights the desire to make a differentiated campaign, aiming to present herself to the Brazilian electorate.

“As I have said, my campaign is political, it is to have a woman speaking which Brazil we, women, want (…) Now, I want to present myself to society. I don’t get into polarization, because I refuse to think that Lula and Bolsonaro are bigger than Brazil. We have to talk less about them and more about Brazil”, Simone Tebet concludes.