Lula's Workers' Party Moves Toward Its Own Minas Gerais Bid After Pacheco Exit

Brazil's Workers' Party (PT), the center-left party led by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has opened an internal process to build its own candidacy for governor of Minas Gerais after Senator Rodrigo Pacheco declined to run.

The decision does not close the door to alliances. PT leaders say they will keep speaking with other parties before the party convention expected in July, but the state branch now wants to negotiate from the position of having a possible name of its own.

A Strategic State

Minas Gerais is one of Brazil's most important electoral battlegrounds. It has a large electorate, a history of swinging between political blocs and symbolic weight in presidential races. PT leaders see a strong local platform as central to Lula's 2026 re-election campaign.

Pacheco, a former Senate president affiliated with the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB), had been Lula's preferred name to lead a broad pro-government coalition in the state. Jovem Pan News reported that he said he would end his political career after 12 years in public life and return to practicing law, ruling out any elected race. His decision left the president's camp without a clear candidate for the Palacio Tiradentes, the seat of Minas Gerais' state government.

PT's Minas Gerais executive approved a resolution after Pacheco's withdrawal saying it was "inadmissible" that, in May 2026, the party was still waiting for figures from outside its own ranks to lead its state project. The document said the uncertainty strengthened opponents and weakened the democratic camp aligned with Lula. (Gazeta do Povo reported the resolution was approved on Saturday, May 30; CartaCapital said it was approved by the state executive on Thursday, May 29, and released on Saturday.)

PT Keeps Talking

The resolution was presented around the party event "Lula pelas Minas e pelos Gerais" in Contagem, in the Belo Horizonte metropolitan region. Poder360 and Valor reported that the meeting drew about 1,500 activists and included PT national president Edinho Silva, state party president Leninha, lawmakers and potential 2026 candidates.

Leninha, a state deputy and head of PT in Minas Gerais, said the party wants to arrive at its July convention with a PT name ready to lead the ticket. According to Valor, she said the party was discussing the need for PT to "protagonize another story" rather than remain dependent on decisions made outside the party and its federation.

Names cited in the discussions include Sandra Goulart, former rector of the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), and federal lawmaker Reginaldo Lopes. Valor reported that Edinho praised Goulart as a nationally recognized figure after her recent entry into PT. O Tempo reported, however, that Lopes has not shown interest in the race.

Marilia Campos, a former mayor of Contagem, was confirmed as PT's pre-candidate for the Senate. Federal lawmaker Rogerio Correia, another name previously mentioned for governor, is expected to seek re-election to the Chamber of Deputies.

Allies and Obstacles

Edinho Silva has also been testing outside options. He met Alexandre Kalil, the former mayor of Belo Horizonte and a pre-candidate for governor with the Democratic Labour Party (PDT), after saying Pacheco's refusal had created an "evident" problem for PT.

O Tempo reported, based on unnamed interlocutors, that Kalil again signaled he does not intend to ally with PT for now and wants a more centrist candidacy. Kalil's press office told the outlet that "nothing changed" after the conversation. According to the same report, Kalil is seeking an alliance with the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), whose condition is that he not appear on Lula's campaign platform.

PT is also speaking with the PSB, the party of Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, and with other figures floated as possible candidates. Those include businessman Josue Gomes da Silva, son of former vice president Jose Alencar, former Minas Gerais attorney general Jarbas Soares and former Belo Horizonte city councillor Gabriel Azevedo of the Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB). Leninha told Valor that the central question is whether any ally would stand on Lula's platform in Minas Gerais; she said Josue Gomes had already said he would.

The Polling Backdrop

For now, the left's candidate remains undefined while the opposition field has a clearer leader. A Real Time Big Data survey published by Poder360 on May 21 showed Senator Cleitinho Azevedo of Republicanos ahead in all three first-round scenarios in which he was tested. In one scenario, Cleitinho had 35% of voting intentions, followed by Pacheco at 15%, Kalil at 14%, and Mateus Simoes of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) at 11%. Pacheco's withdrawal removes one tested name from that field but does not solve the PT's central problem: finding a candidate strong enough to unify Lula's camp in a state both sides see as decisive.