Pivot of the conflict that caused the break between senator Flávio Bolsonaro and former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro, Ceará occupies a strategic position in the PL’s electoral plans in this election. According to senator Rogério Marinho, who coordinates Flávio’s pre-campaign for Planalto, the party plans to elect six federal deputies — the bench is currently made up of three.
— Ceará, for us, is strategic. We will be there on July 10th to support our candidacies. We will have six federal deputies, that is our expectation. We will also have a candidate for the Senate — Marinho told journalists this month.
The state gave victory to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) in 2022. The PT member had 69.97% of the votes, while former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) reached 30.03%.
InfoMoney Tool
Download now (and for free)!
The video released by Michelle Bolsonaro on Wednesday escalates the crisis in the Bolsonaro core due to disagreements over the political direction to be adopted by the PL in the state. The former first lady said that senator and PL pre-candidate for Planalto Flávio Bolsonaro “mistreated” and “disrespected” her during a call. The episode, according to her, occurred after taking a stance against an alliance between the PL and former minister Ciro Gomes (PSDB) in Ceará.
Since December, when Flávio announced that his father had chosen him as Bolsonaro’s nominee for President, Michelle has stayed away from her husband’s children’s political project. The relationship soured almost a month before his announcement as a pre-candidate for Planalto due to the political context in Ceará.
The senator classified the former first lady’s stance as “authoritarian” after Michelle took a stand against an alliance created in Ceará so that Bolsonarism would support Ciro Gomes for the state government. The former first lady defended the name of senator Eduardo Girão (New) in this election.
Name of the PL to the Senate in Ceará is another point of conflict
But it is not just support for Ciro that divides Michelle and Flávio. The choice of the name of the PL for the Senate in Ceará is a point of conflict between the senator and the former first lady and will be in the spotlight at an event by the Ceará PL that will bring the two together next month.
The PL directory in Ceará wishes to introduce state deputy Alcides Fernandes to the Senate on Ciro’s ticket. The articulation has the support of Flávio. Michelle will go to Ceará to participate in the launch of the pre-candidacy for the Senate of Priscila Costa, national vice-president of PL Mulher and one of her main allies.
The PL must decide by the end of the party convention, at the end of July, whether it will opt for Fernandes or Costa’s candidacy for the Senate.
Continues after advertising
In the video published this Wednesday, Michelle argues that Costa worked in the campaign of André Fernandes (PL), state president of the party and son of Alcides, for mayor of Fortaleza in 2024. She considers that what the ally “received in return is revolting”.
— She could be taking care of her own mandate. Instead, she dedicated herself entirely to André’s campaign, bringing the female audience closer, reducing rejection, opening doors that were previously closed. It made a real and significant difference. We didn’t win the election by a whisker, but we stuck to our values. André reached another level with Priscila’s help and dedication.
Michelle argues that Costa’s candidacy was “defined” together with former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and the national president of the PL, Valdemar Costa Neto.
Continues after advertising
— What happened next was that, taking advantage of Jair’s arrest, they began working to eliminate Priscila from the dispute, giving up her place to guarantee an alliance with Ciro Gomes. If André wanted to please Ciro Gomes, why didn’t he offer his own father’s place? Does he think that taking away a woman’s position would be fairer and easier?
The former first lady also argues that Girão “is the only true representative of right-wing agendas in the dispute for the government of Ceará”.
Regarding the situation in Ceará, Michelle said, in reference to Ciro, “they have the right to think that an alliance with someone who has always declared themselves an enemy of their father is wrong”.
Continues after advertising
— I will not exchange values for opportunistic political pragmatism. I’m not stopping anyone from doing it either, but I think it’s wrong to do it in the first round. Ciro will never have my support and, in my opinion, he should not have it from anyone on the right who supports Bolsonaro — said Michelle. — I’m not demanding that the alliance be dissolved in Ceará, but that it be postponed until the second round.
