Allies of the former president () fear that the investigation into the president of the PL, , will hinder the articulations for the .
Privately, they said they found the decision to resume the investigation against the leader for alleged participation in the . For them, it is an attempt to frame who is today the main articulator of the acronym.
The decision was taken by the First Panel of the (Supreme Federal Court) at the suggestion of the minister.
The main practical consequence will be the difficulty of communicating with Bolsonaro, say his allies. The former president is already prohibited from receiving visitors, with the exceptions authorized by Moraes.
This Wednesday, he already denied that Valdemar met the former president, on the grounds that Bolsonaro is with other defendants and is being investigated in the coup plot case.
The ban has already happened in the past, when the leader was also investigated. They remained in this situation for a year, while the Federal Police investigated the attempted coup d’état.
The president of the PL was even indicted in the investigation, but ended up not being included in the complaint from the (Attorney General’s Office).
At the time, Bolsonarists already pointed out the difficulty of articulation and what the situation caused. For them, this got in the way of municipal elections, such as in Curitiba, where the former president went against the party.
Bolsonaro also complained in interviews about the party president and even threatened to leave the party — something that allies attributed to the lack of conversations between the two.
Now, with the former president under house arrest and unable to speak to people, this dialogue tends to be even more hampered, because many decisions have to go through both of them.
In addition to taking care of these conversations and articulations due to the position he holds, Valdemar has intensified travel around the country, something that was more up to Bolsonaro.
At home and worried about a possible prison sentence when the appeals phase at the STF ends, the former president has not been very active in articulations for 2026, according to interlocutors. It is still up to him to define, above all, . And, for allies, this will become even more difficult if Moraes maintains a ban on Valdemar visiting him.
On social media, parliamentarians came to the defense of the PL president. “[A investigação] It’s just an excuse to achieve your objective of revoking the PL’s registration. Another hand goal that the VAR of the 1st class of the STF will validate, for the sake of democracy, of course”, said senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ).
“May this serve as a warning to other parties, including PP, União Brasil, Republicans, PSD and even PT. If the wind in the windsock changes, he will attack anyone, without any ceremony. Just dare to go against their interests”, he added.
The leader of the PL in the Chamber, Sóstenes Cavalcante (RJ), said he reaffirmed his “full support for President Valdemar Costa Neto, who acted within the law and with respect for Brazilian institutions”.
“Questioning the ballot boxes seeking to improve the electoral process has become a crime”, stated deputy Carlos Jordy (PL-RJ).
Why the inquiry was reopened
The reopening of the investigation was decided by the majority of ministers of the First Panel of the STF, defeating the position defended by the minister.
The suggestion was given by Moraes when voting for , president of the Instituto Voto Legal, hired by the PL in 2022 to produce a report against electronic voting machines.
The First Panel sentenced Rocha to seven years and six months for the crimes of criminal organization and attempted abolition of the democratic rule of law. He is accused of producing a report that created false suspicions of fraud in part of the ballot boxes used in the 2022 elections.
Based on this report, the PL filed a representation with the TSE (Superior Electoral Court) asking for the votes of almost half of the ballot boxes to be annulled. The action was rejected by the Electoral Court, and the party was ordered to pay a fine of almost R$23 million for litigation in bad faith.
In addition to the decision on Valdemar, the STF also published this Wednesday (22) the ruling with the former president and seven other defendants for attempted coup d’état, increasing the pressure on Bolsonarism.
With the publication, which formalizes the result of the trial, the . An eventual serving of a sentence in a closed regime may occur after these resources have been exhausted — something that court ministers .
