Mato Grosso conventions clash as Pedro Taques backs Lula, Union Brazil debates 2026 plan

At the Federation Brazil of Hope convention in Cuiabá, PSB Senate candidate Pedro Taques urged voters to hold candidates accountable for their past, present and future, defended democracy and press freedom, and pledged support for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Vice‑President Geraldo Alckmin. He also criticised former governor Mauro Mendes of Union Brazil without naming him directly.

Later the same day, the Union Brazil state convention in Cuiabá turned tense when state deputy Dilmar Dal Bosco accused former governor Mauro Mendes of betraying the party. Mendes defended the party’s historic practice of forming electoral alliances, including support for Governor Otaviano Pivetta’s re‑election bid, and warned that backing candidates from other parties is a political choice, not disloyalty. The dispute highlighted internal divisions over the party’s strategy for the 2026 elections, including whether to field its own candidate for the Mato Grosso governorship.

Both events illustrate the shifting alliances and intra‑party conflicts shaping the upcoming electoral cycle in Mato Grosso and Brazil’s broader political landscape.