Representative Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG) signaled that he should not be a candidate for the government of Minas Gerais in 2026. In a conversation with journalists, he stated that he had reached a personal decision about the next steps in his political career, a choice that, according to him, was made in a “humble” way and will be publicly announced soon.
According to the parliamentarian, former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) has already been informed of the decision and would have agreed with his ally’s strategy. The two met on November 21, the day before the arrest of the former chief executive.
When explaining the reasoning that led him to discard his candidacy, Nikolas used a metaphor that he had already repeated in internal conversations: thinking “as your enemy would think”. For him, running for government at this time would make him more vulnerable.
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“If I take over the State, I lose jurisdiction [por prerrogativa de função]. The next day I could have the Public Ministry or the TCU after me, and not for fair reasons”, he stated. The deputy insists that there would be no political environment to conduct management with autonomy. “It is an illusion to think that the federal government would let me run the State in the way it needs.”
Despite the deputy’s speech, Brazilian legislation does not remove the privileged forum of those who assume the government of a State. If Nikolas Ferreira contested and won the election for governor of Minas Gerais, he would not lose his seat, he would just change his position.
Today, as a federal deputy, Nikolas is judged by the Federal Supreme Court (STF). If he became governor, the forum would continue to exist, but it would be exercised by the Superior Court of Justice (STJ), which is the court responsible for prosecuting and judging governors in criminal actions.
Nikolas also argues that he sees no urgency in joining the Minas Gerais Executive. At 29 years old, he says he considers appearing in the polls to be positive, but understands that it is not yet the time to run for office.
He once again complained about what he calls “narrative attacks” against his image and minimized controversies involving relatives. “I’m still ahead of the research even with all these stories. The most they can say is about a cousin of mine who was arrested. If everyone has to pay for what a relative does, no one will escape.”
With this, the deputy reinforces the expectation that he will continue to compete for the Legislature in 2026, while trying to preserve his forum and calibrate his national political presence without assuming, for now, the risk of commanding one of the largest states in the country.
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