Soraya Thronicke in presidential race under Brazil Union

Fellow party member Marcos Cintra is her running mate

Published on 05/08/2022 - 20:07 By Karine Melo - Brasília

On the last day for party conventions and the registration of candidates, Friday (Aug. 5), Brazil Union confirmed Senator Soraya Thronicke as the party’s presidential hopeful. Economist and former federal representative Marcos Cintra was unveiled as her running mate.

The candidacy of the lawmaker from Mato Grosso do Sul comes after the party’s national head, federal representative Luciano Bivar, gave up running for a seat at the presidential palace in this year’s elections. He plans to continue serving in the lower house.

Like Bivar, Thronicke advocates economic liberalism and a single federal tax countrywide. “The poorest are the ones who pay the most taxes and the workers’ salary never fully goes into their pockets because it is devoured by the number of taxes. The time has come to fix these inequalities, but in order for that to happen, we must have as president someone who is independent, free from ties while governing,” she told supporters at the convention.

The senator also argued for stronger anti-corruption efforts and criticized the polarization between candidates Jair Bolsonaro and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the presidential race. In her address at the convention, held in São Paulo, she also called on Brazilians to trust her, adding the outcome of the game is not yet defined.

Bio

Soraya Thronicke, 49, is a lawyer, born in Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul state. As a first-rime candidate, she was elected senator for her state in 2018 under then Social Liberal Party (PSL), now Brazil Union. She was the deputy leader for the government in Congress and today is the political coordinator of the Parliamentary Agricultural Front in the Senate, in addition holding a chair in eight upper house committees. She also presides over Brazil Union’s national branch for women and for Mato Grosso do Sul.

Marcos Cintra, 76, is an economist, graduated in economic planning from the University of Campinas, in São Paulo state. He was elected a federal representative in 1998, a position he held until 2003. In the lower house, he was a member of the committees on finance and taxation as well as tax reform and chairman of the committee on economy, industry and commerce. In 2019, he served as special secretary for Brazil’s Federal Revenue.

Translation: Fabrício Ferreira -  Edition: Paula Laboissière

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