The governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Eduardo Leite (PSDB), justified his vote for Bolsonaro in the 2018 elections: “The PT’s return to power at that moment seemed like something very bad”. But then he added that Bolsonaro’s election was a mistake. “that we and millions of Brazilians committed”.
Eduardo Leite made the statements to Folha de São Paulo, 1 day after publicly declaring that he is gay. here’s the full interview, published this Saturday (3.Jul.2021).
Here are other highlights of the governor’s speeches:
The relationship with Bolsonaro
Eduardo Leite stated to leaf who, despite having voted for Bolsonaro, never supported his candidacy. “Support is asking for votes, campaigning together, I didn’t do that”, said the governor. He added that he simply declared his vote “with a scathing criticism”.
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Leite also said that he did not feel represented by Bolsonaro – known for homophobic comments – but that he kept his vote “in the expectation that it could be different from what his background presented”.
Asked about Bolsonaro’s reaction to the public declaration of his homosexuality, the governor fired: “The president is an imbecile.”
Bolsonaro told supporters that the Gaucho governor’s announcement was a “Business Card” for a presidential candidacy. “”Nobody has anything against anyone’s private life, now, wanting to impose their custom, their behavior on others, no”, criticized the president.
Eduardo Leite stressed that he does not try to impose anything on anyone, and said he is happy for having come out “regardless of the results that this will bring from an electoral point of view”.
2022 Elections
The governor of Rio Grande do Sul said that he was encouraged by toucan deputies to run for president in 2022. Eduardo Leite also said that the “very high level of rejection” to the names of Lula and Bolsonaro indicate that a 3rd way may be possible, as long as there is a connection“with the voter’s feeling”.
The governor avoided declaring which of the 2 sides would support in an eventual 2nd round: “We will work so that this second round does not happen, until the last moment. If it happens, we’ll discuss it later on, but I trust it won’t happen”.
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