The strategy of nominating ex-Governor Geraldo Alcmina (PSDB) as the running mate for vice president in the 2022 presidential election will not be new in the political trajectory of ex-President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva (PT). While such an unlikely possibility, Lula chose a similar path in his first presidential competition more than 30 years ago.

In 1989, when he met Fernando Collor (then at PRN) in the second round, the PT member selected PSDB member, ally of former Governor Mario Covas, as his partner: Judge José Paulo Bisola (1928-2021)).

::: “Bisol is a Brazilian who cannot be forgotten,” says Lula :::

The maneuver to get Bisol, one of the founders of the PSDB, to be included in the PT presidential ticket was due to his abandonment of the tucana acronym and joining the PSB. The path could be traced by Alkmin if he is indeed chosen as a vice-candidate in the 2022 elections (another possibility could be his membership in the SDP).

Known as a human rights advocate, Bisol was considered a “less radical” name than Lula, which could guarantee greater recognition among the business community. Gaucho was a State Member from 1983 to 1987 and a Senator from Rio Grande do Sul from 1987 to 1995.

Bizol and Alkmina matches

– Former allies of Covas: Bizol founded PSDB with Covas and had one of his main allies in politics. Alcmin was also close to Covas and was known as “Covas’s name in the House” during the Constituent Assembly. In the 1998 elections, Alcmin ran for lieutenant governor on the political godfather list and took over Palacio dos Bandeirantes after Covas. death in 2001.

– From PSDB to PSB: In June 1988, Bisol helped found the PSDB and was one of the strengths of the new party. That same year, he even considered going to PDT Leonel Brizola, but agreed to go to PSB for sewing to become Lula’s vice president. Alcmine is still officially a toucan, but he has invitations from PSB and PSD on his desk. Choosing the first acronym increases the chance of being Lula’s substitute.

– Left reviews: several PT sectors have publicly criticized Bizol’s selection of vice president candidates. They even removed the presidential ticket in the video. Alkmin is also opposed by left-wing and social movements. As governor of São Paulo, the toucan has fiercely opposed the population due to the successive incidents of police violence and harassment of teachers and popular movements.

::: Jose Paulo Bisol, 92 years old: “I like life. And I will die rejoicing in life “:::

Display “cracked” on the left

The invitation to Bisol surprised the political world and angered part of the party that advocated for Fernando Gabeira (PV) to take over on the “Frente Brasil Popular” ticket consisting of PT, PV, PSB and PCdoB. São Paulo’s then advisers Adriano Diogo and Pedro Dallari publicly criticized Bisol.

Bisol’s choice published in the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo on July 1, 1989 / Reproduction / Collection of Folha de S. Paulo

On July 1, 1989, Dallari reported Folha de Sao Paulo that this initiative violated the decision of the national PT assembly at which Gabeira was appointed, and that he hopes that the national leadership will reverse this decision. Adriano Diogo said that he “never heard of Bisola” and that the name of the judge does not correspond to the various forces of the Brazilian Front.

In the same issue, the then reporter from sheet Andre Singer stated that the choice was motivated by the fact that there was more time during the PC elections. The extra minutes from PCdoB benefited the party, which vetoed Gabeira, he said. “With time on television, without which Lula’s campaign would have been cut from ten to five minutes a day, PCdoB had the power to veto Fernando Gabeira’s name,” he wrote.

“The veto was for two reasons: Gabeira did not fit the traditional PCdoB suit and the party felt weakened by seeing a smaller member in front (PV) in the vice position. and someone from the OBO, who would be the golden mean. Having tried several names (the last were Cristovam Buarc and Evaristo Moraes Filho, who did not accept), they fell in love with Bisol, which he accepted, “concluded Singer.

::: Article | Bisol and the Democratic Crossroads :::

The “crack” with the appearance of Bisol in the application was such that PV refused to support PT in the elections. The decision was also motivated by a biased statement by then CUT national president Jair Menegelli about Gabeira. According to the union leader, the former partisan was expelled from office because of his “homosexual image.” Gabeira’s solo candidacy did not become popular and gained only 0.19% of the vote.

Bisol’s selection was finalized on July 7th at the PT convention, about four months before the first round. The “pivot to the center” with the judge on the ticket was intended to curb the advancement of Collor, who had skyrocketed in polling stations in the late first half of 1989.

In late April, DataFolha pointed to a technical connection between PDT’s Leonel Brizola (13%), Lula (12%) and Collor (14%). At the end of June, the institute showed Collor climbed 28 percentage points to 42%, creating a big lead over Brizola (11%) and Lula (7%). According to polls, the PT candidate overtook Brizola only in October, a month before the elections.

Evolution of Electoral Polls Conducted by Instituto Datafolha in the 1989 Presidential Election / Reproduction / DataFolha

Despite being defeated in the second round by Collor, the then senator from Rio Grande do Sul was re-invited as Vice President on the presidential list in 1994. A Folha report dated April 30 of the same year shows that the intention was to communicate to Lula in a cafe in the morning at Bizol’s Brasilia home.

The report also states that “after Lula, Bisola was applauded the most” at the opening of the 9th National Assembly of the PC. The new marriage, however, was unsuccessful due to allegations that Bisol had inflated the value of his land in order to obtain funding, and that he was in debt to Banco do Brasil.

PT member Aloisio Mercadante was elected to this post in 1994 instead of Bisol. With Lula’s support, he won a dispute with Eduardo Suplisi, Celio de Castro (PSB), then Deputy Mayor of Belo Horizonte, and Roberto Freire of the PPS. The plate of “pure blood” PT sank. In the first round, Fernando Henrique Cardoso (PSDB) won with 54.2% of the vote. Lula had 27.1%.

“Rotate to center”

The PT signals to the political center, based on the election of vice presidents in presidential candidacies, were repeated in 2002 and 2006 with Jose Alencar (Poland), and in 2010 and 2014 with Michel Temer (MDB). In 2022, Lula may repeat this step.

This Wednesday (17) Brazil actually showed that Alcmin’s appointment to the post ran into disagreements within PT itself. Former chief of staff, Jose Dirceu, stated on the Três Por Quatro podcast that he prefers a black woman. São Paulo State President Luis Mariño defended the choice of the former governor.

On Monday (15), at a press conference at the headquarters of the European Parliament in Belgium, Lula commented on the possibility of sharing a ticket with Alkmin in 2022.

“I am not discussing the deputy yet, because I have not discussed my candidacy. When I make a decision, then I will go to the field to find someone who will be an MP, ”said the PC member who leads the polls on intentions to vote in next year’s elections. According to research, favoritism is such that it may even win an election in the first round.

However, Lula did not deny that the toucan could be selected for the position. In the same interview, he praised the former governor of São Paulo: “I have an extraordinary respect for Alcmina, I was president, when he was governor, we talked a lot. There is nothing between me and Alkmin that cannot be reconciled. “

Who was Jose Paulo Bisol

Jose Paulo Bisol was born in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul on October 22, 1928. He is the son of Fortunato Bisol and Maria Rossato Bisol. He married Yolanda Bisol, with whom he had three children, Tula, Ricardo and Jairo. He has nine grandchildren and a great-grandson. “I’ve always been a rebel. I mean, I’ve always had my disagreements with the world. I am always on the other side of ordinary things. I don’t fit. I never had it, “he said in interview with Sul21, 2011…

According to the bibliography available in CPDOC – Center for Research and Documentation of Brazilian Contemporary HistoryBisol graduated from the Pontifical Catholic University (PUC) in Porto Alegre in 1954 with a degree in Law. Two years later, he embarked on a long career in the gaucho magistracy before being appointed as a legal judge, a position he held in the capital, Rio de Janeiro. Grande do Sul and in several cities within the state.

He began his political career in November 1982 when he was running for state MP for the Brazilian Democratic Movement (PMDB). Elected, he was sworn in by the Gaucho Legislature in February 1983, becoming deputy head of his party’s bench and vice president of the House of Representatives’ Constitution and Justice Committee. In 1986 he was elected leader of the PMDB and became president of the Constitution and Justice Commission.

In elections in November of the same year, he ran for MP from Rio Grande do Sul, always featured in the PMDB legend. Elected with the support of Rede Brasil Sul de Comunicações, he took office in February 1987, shortly after the end of his government mandate, when the National Constituent Assembly began work. He was Rapporteur of the Commission on Sovereignty, Rights and Guarantees of Men and Women, and was also a member of the Commission on Systematization.

In June 1988, he joined the Brazilian Social Democratic Party (PSDB), which was formed in the same month, bringing together primarily PMDB MPs who were unhappy with the position of the PMDB summit in the Constituent Assembly. In promulgating the new Constitutional Charter on October 5 of the following year, he turned to the regular work of the Federal Senate.

In June 2000, he joined PT. Between 1999 and 2002, he was Secretary of Justice and Public Security in the government of Olivio Dutra (PT) in Rio Grande do Sul. But I remember the episodes that accurately reflect her character, especially the episode in which she hugged the plane hijacker. a van that requested the presence of a government representative to mediate negotiations with the brigade.

Away from politics, ever since he finished his job at the Secretariat of Justice and Public Security of Rio Grande do Sul in 2002, Bisol is still remembered as the secretary whom the Rio Grande do Sul police have persecuted for exposing internal corruption. corporations. However, three civil claims against 141 police officers and two officers of the military brigade were denied compensation for non-pecuniary damage.

Bisol died on June 26, 2021 from multiple organ failure.

Edition: Thales Schmidt