Flávio Bolsonaro meets the PP and the Union, but does not obtain immediate support for his candidacy

BRASÍLIA – Three days after announcing his intention to run for President of the Republic, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ) gathered at his home the leaders of Centrão and the right to ask for support for his pre-candidacy. The meeting ended without a definition.

The presidents of União Brasil, Antônio Rueda, and Progressistas, Ciro Nogueira, spent almost three hours in Flávio’s house, in Brasilia, with the president of the PL and secretary general of the party, senator Rogério Marinho (RN).

Rueda and Ciro are committed to bringing this issue to their parties, said Marinho, who told reporters after the meeting.

Marinho said discussions on an alliance to defeat the PT in 2026 began with the withdrawal of União and the PP from the Lula government a few months ago and resumed after Flávio’s pre-candidacy.

“It was natural for Senator Flávio to explain (to the guests) his candidacy, why it happened, under what circumstances it was made public, and the natural request for support so that we could converge on a candidacy with the greatest number of parliamentarians and government candidates, and have coverage throughout Brazil,” the senator said.

Marinho said a definition of allied parties was not expected to be published anytime soon and pushed Republican President Marcos Pereira, who was invited to the meeting, by saying he must have another “more important” commitment to sort out.

Among the obstacles to the Union’s support for Flávio’s candidacy is the fact that the party has already launched its name in the race, that of the governor of Goiás, Ronaldo Caiado.

The meeting takes place after three days of exchanges in Flávio’s speech since the announcement of his candidacy, on Friday 5. That day, he said he was chosen to continue his father’s project, without mentioning the presidency of the Republic.

The announcement was very poorly received by the market, which suffered a day of decline on the Stock Exchange, and by the leaders of Centrão, who see greater electoral viability in a possible candidacy of Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans), governor of São Paulo.

Disbelief in Flávio’s presidential arrangements grew on Sunday morning, when he told the press after a service in an evangelical church in Brasilia – as the kick-off of an electoral campaign – that there was a “price” to pay for giving up the adventure.

The statement gave an air of bluff to Flávio’s announcement, and the senator had to come back into the spotlight to say that his candidacy would remain firm until the end, and that he would give up if it had to give way to his father, who will not be able to run due to his incarceration.

This Monday, the right-wing leaders spoke out with some delay on Flávio’s projects. Tarcísio said that Flávio’s pre-candidacy can count on his support. But he added that time will tell if this is the best option.

“He (Flávio) was with me last Friday. We spoke and President Bolsonaro, who is a person I respect a lot and who always said that I was loyal to Bolsonaro, is non-negotiable. And he told me the choice that Bolsonaro made for the name,” Tarcísio said.

“Flávio will count on us. He now has a big responsibility. He joins other big names in the opposition who have already proposed their names, like Romeu Zema, Ronaldo Caiado. We can have other names, like Ratinho Junior. All extremely qualified,” he said.

Senator Ciro Nogueira has made his position clear. He said that “politics is not just about friendships.” and that there must be a conversation between the center and right parties so that the choice is not made only by the PL.

“Senator Flávio is one of the best friends I have in my public life. If I personally had to choose a candidate to succeed Bolsonaro, I have no doubt that it would be Flávio, because of my relationship with him. But politics is not only done with friendships, it is done with research, with viability, with listening to the allied parties. It cannot just be a decision of the PL, it must be a constructed decision”, declared Ciro to journalists from Paraná.

Ciro Nogueira reaffirmed that names like the governors of São Paulo and Paraná, Ratinho Jr. (PSD), could unify the center and right camps, but admitted that the possibilities could change and that he could be “convinced”: “I had already expressed it before: the two candidates who could unify this list were the names of Governor Tarcísio, who was the strongest, or Governor Ratinho, but politics is like a cloud.”