Allies of the president (PT) will explore the between () and as a way of reinforcing the discourse of national sovereignty, which was already being applied by the government, aiming at the election.
PT members also intend to use as a resource against Flávio the comparison between the reception given by Trump to Lula, during the visit carried out at the beginning of the month, with that given to members of the Bolsonaro family this Tuesday (26).
The idea is to emphasize the elaborate reception for the Brazilian president, which had elements such as a red carpet, photos with a handshake and positive statements from Trump after the meeting, compared to a colder reception for Flávio and Eduardo Bolsonaro.
Trump received Flávio at the White House, three weeks after Lula’s visit to the American president. The senator was accompanied by his brother and ally Paulo Figueiredo.
The trip of (PL’s) eldest son to the USA comes at a time of crisis in his pre-campaign, following the revelations of his involvement with Daniel Vorcaro, owner of Banco Master. Flávio would have negotiated around R$134 million to sponsor “”, the film about his father.
PT supporters point out that Flávio’s mobilization seeks to detach his image from his involvement with the case, the revelation of which impacted his performance in the polls. A survey carried out after the disclosure of the senator’s negotiations with the banker showed an increase in Lula’s advantage, in a simulation of the first round, scoring 40% for the PT member compared to 31% for his rival.
In a photo published by the senator after the meeting, the American president appears sitting at the table, in a different posture than the handshake published on the day of Lula’s visit. For the PT’s allies, the image and the conversation should only have an effect with Bolsonaro’s most loyal electorate, without major impacts for Lula.
For Planalto Palace assistants, with this Tuesday’s meeting, Flávio also assumes the risk of being associated with possible setbacks in ongoing negotiations between Lula and Trump. Flávio said he had discussed with the American president topics that had already been discussed by both governments in the official meeting at the beginning of the month, such as negotiations around tariffs and .
According to these interlocutors, the tendency is for government officials to associate any retreat by Trump in dialogue with Brazil with Flávio Bolsonaro, in order to portray him as someone who acted contrary to Brazilian interests.
In this way, Lula would come out ahead in the narrative of defending national sovereignty. In recent months, the Brazilian president has been correlating the Bolsonaro family with subservience to the USA.
Still speaking to the press, the criminals CV () and PCC (Primeiro Comando da Capital) are terrorist groups, a point of divergence between the American and Brazilian governments.
The idea of designating these groups as terrorists goes against the concept established by the UN (United Nations), which Brazilian diplomacy openly supports. According to Lula, this topic was not discussed in his meeting with Trump, on the 7th.
Lula’s allies also assess that this Tuesday’s meeting does not necessarily represent a good scenario for Flávio and see the mobilization as a desperate act of his pre-campaign, weakened by the recent episodes.
Until early afternoon, there was no official confirmation from the White House that Flávio would be received by the American president. On social media, the senator published a video stating that he was in Washington and that he would have a “very cool” conversation: “In a little while you’ll know who he’s with.”
According to Flávio, the Brazilian embassy in the USA did not authorize his speech to journalists after the meeting to be held there.
Publicly, Lula’s allies treat the meeting with irony. On social media, government parliamentarians already adopt this tone when citing the episode. When asked about the visit, the Vice President of the Republic, (PSB), said that “one of the Bolsonaro family” working against Brazil was enough.
On social media, federal deputy Lindbergh Farias (PT-RJ) stated that the meeting aims to hide the scandal and referred to the episode as “Three Stooges with Trump”.
