After “a series of internal clashes, the pre-presidential campaign of the senator (-RJ) began to prioritize gestures to revive the support of the Bolsonarista militancy.
According to the pre-candidate’s assistants, interaction with the captive right-wing base does not eliminate his commitment to , especially because he is seen by allies as a more thoughtful politician than his father. But, in recent weeks, the effort has been to activate the spontaneous engagement of the electorate, something that the former president (PL) always enjoyed.
At the same time, Flávio seeks to organize the house after a series of casualties in his team, motivated by a power struggle and divergence in relation to the electoral strategy. The new marketing and press coordinators hope to use the period of , in which the election becomes a secondary issue, to put the new structure into operation and overcome political obstacles, such as .
The general assessment is that the pre-campaign is back on track after the shock caused by the revelation of audios and messages between Flávio and the owner of , , regarding the financing of the film “Dark Horse”, in honor of Bolsonaro.
Flávio’s aides claim that the crisis has been controlled and do not expect new chapters, unlike a large part of the political class, which . These assistants also say that the e is recoverable, mainly because Flávio is still the most competitive opponent of (PT) and should naturally concentrate the support of the entire right in the second round — even if due to lack of option.
Since the “Dark Horse” case, the pre-campaign orientation has been to win back Bolsonaro supporters who may have been disappointed with Flávio and avoid anti-PT voters.
The idea of unifying the base is to give political support to Flávio to avoid internal speculation in the PL that he could be replaced or would not resist until the end of the campaign. The link between the senator and Vorcaro fed, for example, the (PL) to Planalto.
Among strategists who left the pre-campaign, there is a complaint that the focus on the base will alienate undecided and centrist voters, the group that should decide the election.
Team members say that winning over this volatile electorate could be delayed or made possible through target audience and topic segmentation. This week, for example, Flávio on the one hand and waved to the base with a video about public safety, one of the main themes of the campaign.
The senator stated that he will make an announcement with “bad news for the CV, the PCC and the PT”. In the video, made with artificial intelligence, he appears piloting a military plane and attacking the factions alongside his father.
Flávio’s recent ideological signals include a trip to the United States, sponsored by Eduardo Bolsonaro and businessman Paulo Figueiredo, and a more intense speech against Lula, including the March for Jesus.
On social media, Flávio’s presentation videos in which he appears alongside his wife and daughters lost space for content confronting the PT.
intends to translate the message of calling on supporters while targeting evangelicals and Catholics, a portion considered crucial for Flávio. The song says that Brazilians can believe in a better future.
Publicist Eduardo Fischer, known for campaigns such as , was hired by Flávio’s pre-campaign at the end of May as a strategic communications consultant. Journalist Alexandre Oltramari, who was already part of the team, took over marketing and communications coordination — the new jingle is his.
The entry of Fischer, who had been away from the market for years, was controversial. PL members wanted to bring an advertising medallion to give prestige and credibility to the pre-campaign, but the businessman is the target of criticism for and caused by the collapse of his business.
Since Fischer was announced by Flávio’s advisors, the senator’s office has already received legal subpoenas directed to the publicist in . Interested in being part of the pre-campaign, Fischer joined the team through contact with members of the PL and Figueiredo, an influencer who lives in the USA.
Another pre-campaign hire made after the “Dark Horse” crisis was the press coordinator, . This week, Flávio announced that he will visit the country’s main media outlets to relax relations with the press.
General coordinator of Flávio’s pre-campaign, senator Rogério Marinho (PL-RN) asked () to release his secretary for the post, a gesture that strengthened the link between the mayor and Bolsonarism forged in the 2024 election.
The pre-campaign is still considering hiring the producer of Raul Doria, brother of former governor João Doria.
Flávio lost, on the other hand, strategists Toninho Neto, a publicist in the creative area with renowned campaigns under his belt, Walter Longo, former president of Grupo Abril, and a member of the victorious campaigns of Bolsonaro in 2018 and Lula in 2022. The first two opposed Fischer’s entry.
Until the relationship between Flávio and Vorcaro was revealed, in May, the pre-campaign marketing, publicist and former police officer who is a friend of the senator and, even outside the team, remained close to him.
Marcellão, as he is known, left the post affected by the Dark Horse crisis, by , and by a dispute with the PL leadership, which intended to control pre-campaign communication.
The publicist and party members exchange accusations about the party’s responsibility. The fact that he traveled to Disney with his family the day after the audio was revealed weighed against Flávio’s friend. Marcellão says that, at that moment, he should not have been leading the campaign yet as his formal entry was scheduled for the next few months and that he had the senator’s approval.
Thaísa Oliveira, from Brasília, collaborated
