Workers' Party (PT) pre-candidate for mayor of Rio, Representative Benedita da Silva, presented her plans in an interview with Jogo do Poder (Play of Power) to succeed Marcelo Freixo (PSOL) in building a broad democratic front against Jair Bolsonaro in the upcoming elections. Silva revealed her first target: Representative Alessandro Molon's PSB (Brazilian Socialist Party). According to the representative, negotiations are advanced and on track to be finalized. "The PSB is fundamental to this alliance in defense of the people of Rio. I've been talking extensively with Molon. I'd say the negotiations are going very well," she stated.
Twenty-eight years after her first run for mayor of Rio in 1992, when she received the most votes in the first round, only to be defeated by César Maia, Benedita once again offers her name to the people of Rio as an alternative to change the current political practices and logic. Invited by the regional leadership of the Workers' Party (PT) after Freixo's withdrawal from the PSOL party, Benedita hesitated. However, her resistance was overcome after a long phone call with Lula. "He convinced me," she admitted.
The Black woman from the favela community of Chapéu Mangueira, in Leme, who became Rio's first city councilwoman with a popular identity returns to the spotlight at a moment of powerful symbolism, as the world once again rebels against racism following the brutal death of George Floyd. On the show, Benedita analyzes this difficult time for the poor in general, especially for residents of Rio's favelas. She becomes emotional when commenting on the death of João Pedro, a boy brutally killed by the Military Police during an operation in São Gonçalo. She praises Minister Fachin's decision to prohibit police raids in favelas during the pandemic.
Regarding Crivella, she stated that his administration is a disaster, which, in her opinion, increases the hardships of residents in underserved areas. "He never cared for the people," she summarizes. Benedita criticizes the alliance between Bolsonarism and the mayor. "It will be an alliance against the people of Rio de Janeiro," she believes. And she promises to bring to Rio the public policies implemented by the Workers' Party in Maricá, where the party—first with Washington Quaquá and now with Fabiano Horta—has a track record of successful achievements: zero-fare buses, a social currency, full funding for residents' university education, as well as new hospitals and basic healthcare units.
The Game of Power will air on Sunday at midnight on the CNT Television Network.
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