Newly appointed to coordinate Flávio Bolsonaro’s (PL-RJ) pre-campaign to Planalto, senator Rogério Marinho (PL-RN) stated this Friday that the party is working to structure an operation with more professionalism in 2026, following the arrest of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who removed its main electoral leader from the PL and accelerated the internal transition to the senator’s name as a presidential bet.
Marinho told GLOBO that he took on the role two days ago and that the initial priority is to set up the pre-campaign gear, with communication teams, the legal area and the press office, in addition to organizing the government plan that has been prepared by the party.
When defending a change in method in relation to previous Bolsonaro campaigns, Marinho stated that the party intends to learn from Bolsonaro’s electoral experience and avoid structural failures.
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— We have the opportunity, looking at the past, not to repeat mistakes in the preparation and structuring of the campaign. The campaign needs to be a professional campaign, but a campaign that does not lose its essence — he said. — We have a laboratory, we know where we lost it. (…) So, we don’t need to repeat the mistakes. We just need to enhance our successes.
Marinho stated that the PL has already been preparing a government program for around four months, regardless of the candidate, and that the new stage will be to submit this material to Flávio for validation.
According to the senator, the party is still at the beginning of the organization process and avoids bringing forward pre-campaign stages. Marinho stated that there is still no finalized design for the electoral operation and recalled that Flávio was announced as a pre-candidate around 40 days ago.
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Using the same reasoning, Marinho minimized the fact that the governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans), represents an obstacle to Flávio’s project, despite his name continuing to be mentioned as a competitive alternative in the conservative field. The senator stated that there was an expectation, before Bolsonaro’s definition, that Tarcísio could be the PL candidate, but that the decision was made and the “page has been turned”. According to him, the governor has shown loyalty to the former president and should join the process “at the right time”.
— I am a witness to Tarcísio’s form, correctness and loyalty — said Marinho. — The country’s main opponent is the PT, right? And the loyalty and gratitude he has to President Bolsonaro. So, at the right time, in the right way, Tarcísio will join the campaign.
The campaign coordinator’s statements come at a time when the PL is trying to shape Flávio’s pre-candidacy and expand its national presence. The pre-candidate has sought to consolidate the project with increased public exposure — on television programs, podcasts and live streams — and with conversations with market interlocutors, in an effort to present itself as a national alternative and reduce resistance outside the Bolsonarist core.
