In search of competitive platforms in the states, senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ), pre-candidate for Planalto, has bet on attracting candidates from outside his own party, even if this creates internal friction with local supporters, who were already forming their regional alliances and had their plans frustrated by the parliamentarian’s interference.
The articulation is more intense in the Northeast, a region in which he records the worst performance in the polls and where his father, Jair Bolsonaro (PL), lost to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) in 2022.
In a new phase of his pre-campaign, which began with a tour of the states, Flávio was in Maceió last week, where he joined federal deputy Alfredo Gaspar, who left União Brasil to take command of the PL directory in Alagoas. In his first term in the Chamber, the parliamentarian gained prominence within the Bolsonarist camp when he assumed the rapporteurship of the CPMI of the INSS, which ended the day before yesterday.
— Deputy Alfredo Gaspar is responding to our call to come to the PL, with total freedom to organize the state and our base. I am sure that, starting from Alagoas, we will take a step towards organizing Brazil — he said, without specifying which position the neo-ally will run for.
The “total freedom” given to the parliamentarian included the complete dissolution of the state executive commission until then chaired by the mayor of the capital, João Henrique Caldas (JHC). The measure was communicated in a letter sent by the national president of the party, Valdemar Costa Neto, in which it was also requested that JHC refrain from “performing any partisan act under penalty of adoption of appropriate legal measures and civil, electoral and criminal liability”.
Before being impeached, the mayor was seen within the acronym as the most competitive name to run for state government or the Senate. The PL, however, decided to support the candidacy of the former president of the House, Arthur Lira (PP).
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Marinho’s ‘substitute’
Still in the Northeast, Flávio announced the candidacy for the government of Rio Grande do Sul by former mayor of Natal Álvaro Costa Dias, who left the Republicans to run for PL. The endorsement of the postulation came after senator Rogério Marinho (PL) gave up running for the Executive to be the national coordinator of the senator’s campaign.
In Rio Grande do Norte, Dias must face Finance Secretary Cadu Xavier, chosen as governor Fátima Bezerra’s (PT) successor. This month, the PT member gave up on resigning after seeing vice-president Walter Alves (MDB) state that he would not take over if she left the position and that he would support an opposition ticket.
On the same weekend, the senator was in João Pessoa for his affiliation and the launch of his pre-candidacy for the government of senator Efraim Filho. The parliamentarian decided to leave União Brasil after the party federation, together with Progressitas, decided to support vice-governor Lucas Ribeiro (PP).
The tactic is expanding to other regions, such as the South, where Flávio chose to launch former judge Sergio Moro, ex-União Brasil, as the name of the PL to run for the Executive of Paraná. The movement caused the departure of 48 of the 53 mayors affiliated with the party in the state, led by federal deputy Giacobo, who also considered himself an option for a possible candidacy for government.
In the Southeast, the bet outside the party ranks considered by the PL has been businessman Flávio Roscoe, president of the Federation of Industries of Minas Gerais (Fiemg), who has no party affiliation and would be seen as an “outsider” to politics.
In the state, the nomination of federal deputy Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG) was considered, but the parliamentarian showed no interest in the state government dispute. As an option, the party is also considering supporting the current governor, Mateus Simões (PSD), who took control of the Executive after the resignation of former governor Romeu Zema (Novo).
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