Federal deputy Luciano Zucco (-RS) officially launched, this Saturday (11), his pre-candidacy for the government of Rio Grande do Sul with the presence of the presidential candidate (PL).
Flávio has been in Rio Grande do Sul since Friday, when he amended his agenda to participate in the event that sealed an alliance of right-wing parties seeking to take command of a strategic state for this political field.
An ally of former president Jair Bolsonaro, Zucco is 47 years old and a lieutenant colonel who graduated from the Agulhas Negras Military Academy.
He gained national recognition among conservatives when he presided over the MST’s CPI in the Chamber, when he was accused by progressive leaders of trying to criminalize the movement. He was leader of the opposition in 2025, leaving the post in December to dedicate himself to the pre-campaign.
Zucco was elected for the first time to public office in 2018, as a state deputy for the then PSL, and, in 2022, he had a brief stint with União Brasil before migrating to , the party for which he was elected federal deputy with the highest vote in the state that year, before migrating to PL in 2023.
In his speech, Zucco paid tribute to the former president, who is now under house arrest. “You can’t see us, but you will feel the energy of all the gauchada that he loves. Today, our children sing the National Anthem because of you,” he said. “We fight for our principles and values of family, faith, freedom, and we will honor you.”
Zucco’s candidacy has as its main ally the , the largest party in terms of number of city halls and members in Rio Grande do Sul. On Friday (10), the name of state deputy Silvana Covatti was announced as the candidate for vice-governor.
Former secretary of agriculture in the government of Eduardo Leite (PSD) and the first woman to preside over the legislative assembly of Rio Grande do Sul, Silvana is Zucco’s bet to attract the female vote.
“It’s my turn to show that women can do health, education and infrastructure, and take care of the house. For me to be here, I had the support of my family”, she said, thanking her husband, former deputy Vilson Covatti, and her son Covatti Júnior, president of the PP in Rio Grande do Sul.
The objective is to win the government after the upset defeat of Onyx Lorenzoni, Bolsonaro’s candidate for government, in 2022. Onyx won in the first round, but lost by 14 percentage points to , who received critical support from the PT.
The right also aims to win the two seats at stake for the Federal Senate with federal deputies (Novo) and Ubiratan Sanderson (PL).
The two senators from Rio Grande do Sul, Luis Carlos Heinze (PP) and Paulo Paim (PT), will not seek re-election, and Paim’s vacancy is considered strategic by Bolsonarists to reduce the presence of the left in the Senate.
In addition to the PP and Novo, the alliance gained the support of the Republicans, the senator, and Podemos. Flávio was accompanied by senators Rogério Marinho (PL-RN) and Magno Malta (PL-ES).
Zucco also received video support from the governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas, and the interim governor of Rio de Janeiro, judge Ricardo Couto de Castro.
Novo’s presidential pre-candidate, Romeu Zema, also sent a video of support and was mentioned by name by Van Hattem, Novo’s biggest leader in Rio Grande do Sul, who stated that separate right-wing projects will be united in the second round of elections.
“The most important thing of all is that everyone. We have a gang today within the STF. Judges who would have the mission of protecting Brazilian society today arrest innocent people, persecute them politically”, said Sanderson.
In a speech, Flávio criticized the minister and presented himself as continuing his father’s political project. “I am a simple instrument. I am being used in the place of who should be here, which is President Jair Messias Bolsonaro.”
Zucco also criticized the STF, but focused his speech on the economic and growth difficulties of Rio Grande do Sul, which he attributed to a succession of state governments run by the PT and centrist parties.
He said that the state’s left has a project “which is to invade land, which is ideology in schools.”
Eduardo Leite, who was passed over in his attempt to run for Planalto with a centrist and anti-polarization speech, will campaign to be succeeded by his vice, Gabriel Souza (), who has federal deputy Ernani Polo (PSD) as a colleague on the ticket.
Polo, who was Secretary of Economic Development in the Leite government, left the PP this year after criticism of the party’s adherence to a candidacy with the PL.
The candidates for the Senate will be state deputy Frederico Antunes, who also left the PP for the PSD, and former governor Germano Rigotto (MDB).
Leite is the only governor in the South region who does not support amnesty for those arrested for the acts of January 8, one of the main agendas of Zucco’s political group.
The PT will not launch a candidate for government for the first time and will nominate the vice of former deputy Juliana Brizola (PDT). She received official support from PT Rio Grande do Sul this week after a conflict with the national executive over the withdrawal of Edegar Pretto’s candidacy in favor of a national agreement with the PDT.
For the Senate, Paulo Pimenta (PT) and Manuela d’Ávila (PSOL), who defend a unified candidacy of the left, will compete for the Senate. However, Manuela’s permanence was placed in doubt due to resistance on the part of PSOL in supporting a ticket led by Juliana.
