Brasília, September 3, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - On Tuesday (2), the PT and the PMDB sealed a "power pact" that will, among other things, unite the two parties, wherever possible, in next year's municipal elections. According to the leader of the PMDB in the Senate, Renan Calheiros (AL), the agreement, underwritten by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at a meeting in the Planalto Palace, goes beyond an alliance in next year's elections, because it guarantees that the participation of the PMDB in the government will be to "share responsibilities, participate in decisions, and help to define public policies."

As to criticisms that the formal alliance with the PMBD will only become real when the party finally obtains the Ministries it claims, Calheiros said that the alliance sealed today is not just a matter of Cabinet posts. "What is at stake is not only our party's support in Congress. It is not just a matter of occupying Ministerial posts. We are determined to fortify a strategic power pact with the PT," he said.

The Senador did not wish to speculate about when the PMDB will enter the government definitively. Calheiros argues that his party knows that, in politics, there exists a "timing" for things to happen. The ideal situation, for him, is for the PMDB to enter the government as part of an ample reform. "But only at the right moment," he said.

When the time comes, Calheiros assured, the presence of PMDB representatives in the government will be proportional "to their political weight and size," but he did not wish to mention names or posts. The party has the largest bloc in the Senate and the second largest in the Chamber of Deputies.

For the time being, the only assurance is that the PMDB will reinforce its support for the tax and Social Security reforms, as it did in the first two votes on Social Security reform in the Chamber. "Our party reaffirms its commitment to governability. We are disposed to help the country," he summed up.

The decision to ally the two parties was taken at a luncheon between President Lula and leaders of the PMDB blocs. According to Calheiros, it was President Lula who made it clear he wants to include the PMDB in the upper echelon of the Administration, since he considers it a party that has a "strategic role" to play. "The President made it clear that he wants the participation of the PMDB in the government. The party is being formally invited for this," Calheiros said. (DAS)