The senator and (PL-RJ) arrived this Monday (25) in Washington in search of an agenda with the president of , . The meeting, however, has not yet been confirmed by the White House.
According to advisors, the meeting, scheduled for Tuesday (26), would have been organized following an invitation from the American government.
The trip takes place at the most delicate moment of Flávio’s pre-campaign, after the release, by Intercept Brasil, of audios in which he asks the former banker, from , for money for the film “”, a production about the former president.
Although the senator’s interlocutors minimize the impacts of the crisis, the first Datafolha survey released after the episode points to a worsening of the electoral scenario for the parliamentarian. Lula increased his advantage over Flávio from three to nine percentage points in a first round simulation: he now appears with 40% of voting intentions, compared to the senator’s 31%.
In the previous round, the two were in a technical draw within the margin of error of two percentage points, with 38% for the PT member and 35% for Flávio. In the second round, the 45% tie gave way to an advantage of 47% to 43% for Lula.
According to people close to the senator, Flávio must be accompanied in Washington by his brother and businessman Paulo Figueiredo.
Both work in the United States in conjunction with American conservative sectors and, last year, they pressed for sanctions against members of the Brazilian government and STF ministers.
On social media, Figueiredo stated that the meeting with Trump is treated as speculation by the press and that neither the campaign nor the White House confirmed or denied the meeting. “In fact, Flávio Bolsonaro is in Washington for a series of high-level meetings. You will know the rest soon,” he wrote.
A possible meeting between Flávio and Trump would take place three weeks after the meeting between the American president and Lula. Members of the federal government say they see no reason to try to block the agenda, treated behind the scenes as an attempt by the senator to produce a positive political fact in the midst of the “Dark Horse” crisis.
Privately, however, government assistants state that any gesture interpreted as an attempt at external interference in the Brazilian electoral process would be responded to in a “quick” and “forceful” manner.
Among Flávio’s allies, there is also caution about announcing the meeting in advance. The senator’s interlocutors claim that there is fear of a last-minute cancellation, as Trump follows the war involving the country and negotiates a possible agreement with Tehran.
Behind the scenes, allies classify the trip as a high-risk gamble and see an “all or nothing” strategy to try to reposition the pre-candidacy.
This week, federal and state deputies, councilors and PL pre-candidates met in Dallas for a meeting with Eduardo Bolsonaro, in the region where the former parliamentarian lives. Among them were Gil Diniz (PL), Lucas Bove (PL), Paulo Mansur (PL) and Cristiano Caporezzo (PL).
These meetings happen frequently and, for some participants, this is their third trip to the United States to meet Eduardo. This time, the group brought together around 20 people.
They say they pay for their trips with their own resources, pay in installments on credit cards, look for cheap accommodation and save on meals — like at the Costco supermarket, where a hot dog and soda costs US$1.50 (R$7.80).
According to allies, the effort is worth it because the meetings allow us to strengthen our relationship with Eduardo Bolsonaro and produce content for social networks, expanding reach and political engagement.
The group, however, is not homogeneous in relation to Flávio Bolsonaro. Some of the allies claim that the “Dark Horse” crisis has already been clarified and maintain that there was no irregularity in the request for financial support made by Flávio to Vorcaro, as it occurred before the suspicions involving the former banker were revealed.
Others, however, admit that the senator mishandled the crisis and criticize, for example, the fact that
Behind the scenes, members of the Bolsonaro base report that the relationship with Eduardo Bolsonaro, even though he lives in the United States, is now closer than with Flávio. According to these reports, part of the militancy feels a lack of direct dialogue with the senator, although they continue to act in his defense on social media.
Allies describe going to the United States also as a demonstration of political loyalty to Eduardo, who has been out of Brazil for around a year.
On social media, participants shared photos and videos with the former deputy. In publications, they call themselves “Eduardistas”, defend meetings on American soil as a way of keeping the base together and state that the meetings are fundamental for political articulation and for defining future candidacies.
