Brazil's Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles said now is a good time for him to run for president as he gains support from the country's ruling party, Reuters reported.
"I am doing a whole series of assessments to see if it is the right moment for me to be a candidate, and much of the data indicates that it is," Meirelles reportedly said in a radio interview. He added that he has been researching what characteristics voters will be looking for in a president when they head to the polls in the Oct. 7 general election.
Support for Meirelles' candidacy has been strengthening within President Michel Temer's Brazilian Democratic Movement, or MDB, which could lead to him being nominated over Temer, Reuters reported March 12, citing party officials.
Meirelles has until April 7 to decide whether or not to resign as minister to run for president, which is the same deadline for him to decide whether or not to join MDB.
"Meirelles wants to join our party and we are still studying his request, but we cannot guarantee that he will be the candidate," a senior MDB official reportedly said. "The rank and file do not want Temer. His candidacy will not fly."
The main backers of Temer's nomination are his closest political allies in the Cabinet, but the growing feeling in the party is that Meirelles would make the better candidate, Reuters quoted one party source as saying.
