In less than a week, the pre-campaign of (-RJ) interrupted the positive trend of the presidential candidate, who began to play defensively against one of the president (PT).
While celebrating the , their allies considered that the campaign was not yet exposed to the left’s heavier artillery and had managed to avoid attrition. So it hadn’t been — until now.
On April 29, Flávio stated that the Lula government was over. Days before the conversations between the presidential candidate and , the senator preached on his networks that “Banco Master belongs to Lula”, saying that . But the dispute was quickly rebalanced, say members of the center.
On the 7th, it was motivated by the suspicion that one of the pre-candidate’s main allies, the president of the PP, senator Ciro Nogueira (PI), received R$300,000 a month from Master, which he denies.
Exalted in December, Ciro was no longer considered for the post recently. The PP-União Brasil federation, however, is the main candidate to form a coalition with the PL and nominate a candidate for vice president.
Then, from the pre-campaign, Marcello Lopes, a friend of Flávio, appears in the document as one of the strategists of the plan to attack the Central Bank hired by Vorcaro and would have received R$650,000 for the service. The publicist said he was surprised by the mention and claimed not to have participated in the action.
These setbacks were drowned out by the third and biggest of them, the revelation, on Wednesday (14), by the website The Intercept Brasil that, as the owner of Master committed to financing the film “Dark Horse” (underdog, in English) in honor of Bolsonaro.
An audio shows the senator demanding the funds from Vorcaro, whom he calls his brother. The relationship that began, according to Flávio, in 2024, even after investigations targeted the owner of the Master. On the eve of Vorcaro’s arrest, last November, Flávio sent him messages.
The senator states. Flávio says that there was a negotiation involving private money and that he did not know about the ex-banker’s schemes.
Even in the view of allies, the crisis seriously affected Flávio’s candidacy and marked a new moment in the fierce race against Lula, and no longer leading the offensive against the government.
The effects spread among leaders and congressmen on the right — who started to — and also on the center, which with the PL and gave the senator more funding and propaganda time.
Flávio had said both publicly and to close politicians that he did not know Vorcaro, which was considered a mistake by his team and came to light. The film’s budget, which would reach R$134 million, covered the expenses of former deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL) in the USA.
Guarantor of Flávio, the governor of São Paulo, (Republicans), and must be clarified. Previously listed as vice-president, the also presidential candidate (Novo) stated that.
A , although close politicians say that the electoral plan remains in place unless there is.
The left, in turn, gained ammunition against Flávio and his family. Lula, and the BolsoMaster slogan was propagated on the networks. Bolsonarists have retaliated against the PT and say that Flávio was a victim of the powerful government machine and selective leaks from the PF.
The senator’s downfall coincided with , which has . The government with debt refinancing, end of blouse tax, fuel subsidy, among others. In parallel, the 6×1 scale PEC advances in Congress.
15 days ago, the scenario was different, and the expectation of power over Flávio spilled over to Congress. He led the opposition and that of those convicted of coup plots, including his father.
Flávio had been indicating an electoral potential unexpected by the political world. It was launched in December, the market’s favorite. With a diagnosis of what the 2022 election cost Bolsonaro, he adopted a moderate approach in an attempt to reduce the rejection linked to his father — Bolsonaro’s rhetoric was delegated to congressmen.
At the beginning of December, in a second round at Datafolha, it reached a technical draw in March (43% to 46%) and, within the margin of error, in the following month (46% to 45%). This is without agreed coalitions and with modest arrivals from names like Tarcísio, Michelle Bolsonaro (PL) and Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG).
In the most recent Datafolha survey, released this Saturday (16), with 45% of voting intentions each. The survey was carried out on Tuesday (12) and Wednesday (13), with the majority of interviews having been carried out before the conversations between the senator and the then owner of Banco Master were revealed.
When it was on the rise, Flávio was able to control variables and allowed himself to postpone announcements that could have negative repercussions. The choice of vice president was scheduled for July. The general launch of . And there was no more talk about who would be Minister of Economy. Now, the senator is left to the imponderable.
Augusto Tenório, from Brasília, collaborated
