🧩 Candidates move in key battleground

In Brazilian politics, party loyalty is often less a matter of conviction than of timing. Senator Rodrigo Pacheco is the latest prominent figure to prove that point: today, he is leaving the center-right Social Democratic Party (PSD) to join the center-left Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB), in a move that speaks volumes about the electoral stakes in Minas Gerais, the country’s second-most populous and third-wealthiest state.

The move is part of a deliberate strategy by the PSB to bulk up its roster with mild conservatives in order to try to win more races. It did the same with Vice President Geraldo Alckmin in 2022. This time around, former Planning Minister Simone Tebet and now Pacheco follow suit. The through-line is clear: build a broad, electorally competitive coalition with politicians who don't wear red.

The Pacheco move is also the result of a months-long courtship by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who wants the former Senate president to run for governor representing his coalition. As we have explained, down-ballot candidates are essential to strengthening a presidential candidate’s grassroots momentum. And perhaps no battleground is more important than Minas Gerais…

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