()’s trip to Papudinha, in Brasília, exposed a division between supporters of the former president regarding this year’s elections and resulted in a public clash between strategists linked to (PL-RJ) and (Republicans) this Friday (16).
Bolsonaro left the room where he was at the Federal Police headquarters, in Brasília, by decision of the STF (Supreme Federal Court) minister Alexandre de Moraes. Family members of the former president complained that the space was not suitable for his medical needs. The change was determined this Thursday (15), after Moraes met with and amid reports that Tarcísio sought out court ministers.
The governor confirmed that he made contacts on the topic during an interview this Friday (16), in Cubatão, in Baixada Santista, but without going into details. “I made contact about this matter since the end of last year. Our interest, our request, was for Bolsonaro to be placed under house arrest,” he said.
Neither Tarcísio nor Michelle celebrated the decision. He, in the interview, and she, on social media, highlighted that the ideal would be for the former president to be at home. Other allies, however, praised the duo.
On Friday morning, the pastor, organizer of Bolsonaro demonstrations on Avenida Paulista, wrote in capital letters “congratulations to Michelle and Tarcísio” in a social media post. “They knew how to articulate how to remove Bolsonaro from the PF to a better place. Certain victories are achieved in stages”, he stated, highlighting that the new prison was not “ideal” and that Bolsonaro was, according to him, a political persecutor.
“Former First Lady Michelle Bolsonaro and Governor Tarcísio de Freitas are proving to be giants in defending President Jair Bolsonaro’s health. Each in their own style, I have been closely following how they are tirelessly fighting for house arrest,” former President Fabio Wajngarten’s former Communications Secretary said on social media.
Behind the scenes, some of Bolsonaro’s allies, especially leaders of right-wing and centrão parties, still have the expectation that Flávio will give up trying for the Presidency to make room for Tarcísio, seen as a name with less rejection and with a chance of beating Lula (PT) in the election.
Tarcísio has publicly said that he will run for re-election. Members of the Bolsonaro clan, however, were disturbed by news that the governor announced a change in the former president’s place of custody. They claim that the publication of the governor’s conversations with ministers, which took place a few hours before Bolsonaro left the PF, was intended to attribute the merit of the decision to Tarcísio.
“I am absolutely convinced, given the most recent facts, that the objective was never to measure forces with Jair Bolsonaro’s children. This was always just the surface of the game. The real intention, even if in a disguised way, is to measure forces with Jair Bolsonaro himself”, said former councilor Carlos Bolsonaro (PL), also on social media — the phrase was interpreted by the governor’s allies as an indirect towards Tarcísio.
When making the publication praising Tarcísio, Wajngarten also made an indirect defense of the governor. “Contrary to some conclusions, all of this has the sole objective of saving the president’s life. I publicly thank them both because we need the greatest leader Brazil has ever had healthy and free,” he wrote.
“As for the parasites already defeated in recent elections, it is better to look for other agendas than to promote meaningless meetings, without results and aimed exclusively at self-promotion”, stated the former secretary, ending the message.
The last sentence was a hint to businessman Filipe Sabará, former coordinator of Pablo Marçal’s (PRTB) campaign for City Hall, who has held meetings with names from the financial market and other groups treating Flávio’s candidacy as irreversible. Sabará is trying to consolidate the senator as a candidate, but has attracted criticism from groups enthusiastic about Tarcísio and also from Bolsonarists who do not accept him — he was João Doria’s secretary at the capital’s city hall.
At the beginning of the evening, although he was not mentioned by name, Sabará released a note refuting Wajngarten.
“On one side, a letter, written in his own hand by Jair Bolsonaro, the greatest leader of the right, containing a mission to his eldest son”, says the text. “On the other, a ‘force of force’ by interest groups, using the legitimate struggle of a wife, desperate for relief from her husband, a group that has been planting notes and research and using Governor Tarcísio as a maneuver, to try to undermine the candidacy [de Flávio] which has already shown itself to be the strongest and most viable against Lula”, said Sabará.
HAS Sheet he confirmed that the note was addressed to Wajngarten.
Bolsonaro’s change of prison occurred shortly after Tarcísio published a video on social media criticizing the conduct of the country’s economic policy. The publication received a comment from his wife, Cristiane, saying that the country needs “a new CEO, my husband”. Michelle liked the message.
The gesture made Bolsonaro’s children criticize Tarcísio and his wife. Still on Thursday, the governor was asked about the attacks on her, but chose not to answer.
