Senator Jose Serra (PSDB-SP) – from MP to Minister, Governor and Mayor of São Paulo – is one of the most significant and successful politicians in the country in recent decades. His strength and influence remained almost unwavering even after two PT defeats in an effort to reach Palacio do Planalto. Serra took his current term in the Senate in 2015 and his speeches have been rather low-key lately due to the health problems he is facing. Now he is faced with uncertainty about his political future: at the age of 79, after all, what position will he run for in the next election? A natural route would be to try to be re-elected, but there are doubts about their physical conditions for participation in the campaign.

The decision on his fate is shaking behind the scenes toucans as he will have an important influence on the party’s political chessboard in 2022. The wing is associated with Sao Paulo Governor João Doria, who is campaigning to try to win the caucuses and become the party’s president. would like the senator to run for federal government. The argument is that this will save Serra from a grueling campaign with no confidence in victory. São Paulo will only have one Senate seat on the line, and it can compete with such popular names as presenter José Luis Datena (recently joined PSL) and MP Janaina Pashoal from PSL exit (read the interview on page 11). “If he is running for MP, Serra does not even have to leave his home to be elected,” says the member of the toucanato.

But undoubtedly, the Senate seat today is of strategic importance for Doria’s group, and also for offering it to former Governor Geraldo Alcmin as a final card to prevent his acronym crush, as part of his willingness to return to command of the Palácio dos Bandeirantes. This will be another stumbling block for Doria and her deputy Rodrigo Garcia, recently converted to PSDB and selected by the boss to run in next year’s state elections. However, Alkmin still needs to be convinced that the Senate is a good option (he said he would not give up his candidacy for the government). It remains to be combined with Serra himself. Several months ago, in a conversation with one of the leaders of the party, he said that he would not refuse to be re-elected. However, in recent weeks, rumors have swirled that he is likely to change his mind. For now, the only certainty he says is that he will run for office, but there is still no “clear definition” of the position.

Despite predisposition, advanced age and medical history are troubling. In 2018, during an examination, he was diagnosed with moderately aggressive prostate cancer, which has since been under observation. Last month, infected with Covid-19, he spent eighteen days in hospital. During the same period, doctors discovered the need for angioplasty, and he underwent an operation to install a stent in his heart (he had already undergone a similar procedure in 2013). “Hospitalization to watch for possible complications from Covid and undergoing tests to make sure everything is in order is what defined angioplasty. Not without great luck, ”says Serra.

During the pandemic, he spent most of his time at a spa in Sorocaba, about 100 kilometers from São Paulo, according to people close to him. Allies who have met him since last year have noted signs of despondency and physical weakness. “Even before the pandemic, when I spoke into the Senate microphones, the volume had to be turned up to be heard,” says a congressional colleague. Judging from the latest legislation, difficulties do not seem to have affected its effectiveness. Among his proposals, 47 are awaiting inclusion in the Senate agenda, and fifteen, already approved, are subject to a vote in the House. Despite this, from January 2020 to July 2021, he had to take five sick leave.

Serra also faces problems in court, but their supporters do not see them as a serious obstacle to the electoral lawsuit as his health. He became the target of the so-called “pre-election car wash” in 2020 and was indicted in the Electoral Court on suspicion of receiving 5 million reais in cash in the 2014 elections. militant temperament, he has great respect for his biography. Starting as president of the National Union of Students (UNE), his trajectory went through resistance to a military coup, exile and return to the country, where he eventually became the Minister of Health, in charge of generic drugs and the National Agency was created. of Health Surveillance (Anvisa). At a time when Brazil is facing a deep political crisis, the names of Serra’s level and capabilities are highly welcomed, whether as an MP or a senator.

Published in VEYA of August 4, 2021, issue No. 2749.