Without directly mentioning (-RJ), the pre-candidate for the Presidency (Novo) stated this Wednesday (20) that governing and “changing Brazil” require credibility, in the wake of the crisis affecting the Bolsonaro campaign after the revelation of the senator’s contacts with the owner of , .
“Mayors and mayors, councilors and councillors: governing, you know, requires courage, but it requires, above all, credibility. Whoever wants to change Brazil needs, above all, to have credibility. Credibility to lead, to unite, to make difficult decisions”, stated the former governor of Minas Gerais.
Zema spoke to an audience of mayors and municipal managers during the 27th March of Mayors, an event organized by the CNM (National Confederation of Municipalities) annually in Brasília. On Tuesday (19), Flávio participated in a debate. He received an ovation, but shouts of “Vorcaro”.
Rivals in the race for the Palácio do Planalto, Flávio and Zema separated after, last week, the former governor negotiated the senator with Vorcaro for the film “Dark Horse”, about the former president (PL), revealed by the website.
On the occasion, in a video published on social media, the Novo pre-candidate stated that “there is no point in criticizing the practices of Lula and the PT and doing the same thing”. “Flávio Bolsonaro, hearing you demanding money is unforgivable,” he added.
In response, the senator criticized Zema and said that the miner was “hasty” and “made a mistake”. “He [Zema] He is new to politics and needs to understand that he has a great responsibility to help Brazilians get rid of the PT. I deserved at least the benefit of the doubt from him after my clarifications. He was wrong to anticipate and pre-condemn me, I would never do that to him”, he declared.
To journalists after his speech to the mayors, Zema confirmed that he received a call from Flávio after the friction, but said that he was returning from New York, where he participated in events, and that he returned the call when he landed, but the senator was flying to Rio.
“We missed each other. But I told him I’m available. When he wants to call, I’m available,” he said.
The Novo candidate also repeated that he was disappointed with Flávio and that the explanations presented were not yet convincing, but said that the right will be united in a possible second round against the PT, which will launch President Lula to seek re-election.
On Tuesday, Flávio Bolsonaro also after the former banker’s first arrest, at the end of 2025. Earlier, he met with the PL benches in the Chamber and Senate to explain the scandal.
When asked about the meeting, Zema did not comment directly on the episode. Despite this, he stated during the interview that Vorcaro went after what he saw “would be well received”. “He knew very well who he was showing up to.”
The senator to finance the film about his father. The former banker paid R$61 million for the production. Since then, Flávio has been trying to contain the damage to the pre-campaign for the Presidency and .
According to , Zema’s allies say that the message was given: there is no turning back on his candidacy for President and the video confirmed that he did not consider being Flávio’s eventual vice-president. Asked about the topic this Tuesday, the name of Novo said he will take his campaign “until the end”.
Romeu Zema also once again criticized what he called the “untouchables spree”, in reference to ministers of the (Federal Supreme Court) and sectors of the National Congress.
Last week, he sued (Attorney General’s Office) on charges of slander for the series of videos in which he satirized ministers and, at the time, said he did not intend to back down from criticism.
“We know that the real Brazil does not live in the palaces of Brasília and that the real Brazil is not heard in the palaces of Brasília. The real Brazil is stolen every day by the untouchables who stay here in this city. The real Brazil does not walk on the red carpet, nor does it speak elaborate Portuguese. It speaks the Portuguese that I, here from the interior of Minas Gerais, speak”, he told the mayors.
The former governor of Minas Gerais also criticized the proposal to end the 6×1 scale, currently under discussion in Congress with the support of the Lula government, and defended a working hours regime in which the worker decides “whether he wants to work 50 hours, 40 hours or 30 hours”.
“We have an interventionist government wanting to dictate the rules. The CLT [Consolidação das Leis do Trabalho] He already gave what he had to give. No more tutelage from the State, which defines what the boss and employee have to do, as if they were two children. If you want to work by the hour, work and set your own hours,” he said.
