In planning for this year’s election, the PL has invested in young candidates and in the fight for space in the discussion of identity issues, traditionally associated with the left and criticized by the right, as a strategy to expand its electoral reach. The party started to invest in names with a strong presence on social media, with trajectories linked to the periphery and with speeches focused on themes such as blackness and the demands of workers for the app, in addition to seeking rapprochement with representatives of the LGBT+ electorate.
Among those who put themselves in the dispute is the Rio councilor and president of PL Young state Rafael Satiê (PL-RJ), 37 years old. Elected in 2024, he is tipped to run for deputy in a project that, according to him, will represent “youth, the periphery, capitalism and religion”.
Known for his critical videos on the left and in defense of former president Jair Bolsonaro, Satiê was raised in Complexo do Lins and Jacarezinho and says that his life was transformed by the evangelical faith, following a different path than two of his brothers, one of whom was executed for drug trafficking and the other was imprisoned. He also states that, in recent years, the “issue of blackness, the place of speech and slavery has been hijacked by the left” and says he seeks a “more liberating, conscious and historiographical approach, focusing on black men who made a difference, such as Nilo Peçanha and André Rebouças”:
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“I’ve been speaking with an approach more so that black people living in favelas identify with another black profile, that they don’t lament their weaknesses or lick their wounds and, rather, look at their difficulties and challenges and, in fact, fight with an open heart to overcome them, as I overcame them.”
The choice of a name linked to the party’s youth should be repeated in São Paulo, where the PL will be challenged by the absence of the two best-voted names for the Chamber in 2022: Carla Zambelli and Eduardo Bolsonaro. The vacuum tends to be filled by names like Lucas Pavanato (PL-SP), elected in 2024 as the best-voted councilor in the capital of São Paulo.
With an online activity similar to that of deputy Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG), Pavanato approached the workers’ agenda via app. The discussion of the topic is also a commitment of the Lula government. Coordination with the category must go through minister Guilherme Boulos (PSOL-SP), from the General Secretariat of the Presidency. In the capital of São Paulo, the group faced clashes with Mayor Ricardo Nunes (MDB), who tried to ban motorcycle taxi services. In the City Council, mobilization with the agenda was divided between the left and Pavanato, who presented a bill to regulate the activity and was in strikes. He denies, however, that support for the cause is linked to electoral strategy.
“The Brazilian right is formed by two schools of thought: economic liberalism and conservatism. There is nothing more liberal, in the economic sense, than an agenda that values workers’ rights and, at the same time, preserves market freedom”, he says.
New front
The party has also been in dialogue with influencer Firmino Cortada, from Campo Grande (MS), openly gay and a supporter of conservative agendas. When contacted, he did not respond. The PL is also studying the possibility of having as a candidate the lesbian councilor from Londrina (PR) Jessica Ramos Moreno, nicknamed “Jessicão”, who tends to leave the PP and join Bolsonaro’s party. The former president has already faced legal action for homophobic statements.
In parallel, the acronym has sought to attract media personalities, such as influencer and former funk artist Jojo Todynho, who, since the 2024 elections, has shown alignment with Bolsonarism, due to a rapprochement with Michelle during the campaign. Last year, the artist received an invitation from the PL leadership to join the party, but she declined the offer.
