Kassab distinguishes Tarcísio from Bolsonarism and says it was a ‘big mistake’ not to launch him as a candidate

The national president of the PSD, Gilberto Kassab, made a clear distinction between the governor of São PauloTarcísio de Freitas, and the Bolsonarismstating that the right-wing camp’s error in the 2026 elections was not having chosen the name of the governor of São Paulo to run for president of the Republic.

“Tarcísio is not a Bolsonarist. He is a right-wing leader with a good alliance with Bolsonarism”, said Kassab in an interview with Direto ao Ponto, from Young Pan. For the president of the PSD, Tarcísio met all the conditions to be a candidate and “united everyone” — a profile that, in his assessment, made him more competitive than the current pre-candidate Flávio Bolsonaro.

Kassab also highlighted Tarcísio’s independent trajectory before his rapprochement with former president Jair Bolsonaro. “He already had a past history before Bolsonaro became president of the Republic. He was already a very successful state executive, approved in important competitions, whether in the DNIT or in the Chamber of Deputies”, he said.

For the president of the PSD, Bolsonarism’s decision to pass over Tarcísio was a historic mistake. “I understand that it may have been a big mistake on the part of Bolsonarism not to have chosen Tarcísio,” he declared, adding that it is now up to Ronaldo Caiado to occupy that space in the center-right.

Regarding the governor’s own stance on the process, Kassab was direct: “He made the choice to let the ship sail. If he was chosen, he would be a candidate. He was not chosen, he was not a candidate.”

*This text does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Jovem Pan.