The blessing of former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) to his son and senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ) has not, until now, removed right-wing names from the list of pre-candidates for the presidency. The group reaches 2026 divided, with at least five political leaders officially assuming the intention of running for the Planalto, and with the figure of Governor Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicanos-SP) as a hidden piece of this political failure.
Besides Flávio, the following governors are pre-candidates:
- Eduardo Leite (PSD-RS)
- Ratinho Junior (PSD-PR)
- Ronaldo Caiado (União-GO)
- Romeu Zema (Novo-MG)
The four maintained their pre-candidacy for the presidency of the Republic. The question for 2026 is the position that everyone will have in relation to Flávio, designated by Bolsonaro as candidate, and to the other opponents.
This Thursday (25/12), Flávio made public a letter written and signed by his father, who remains hospitalized after an operation, in which Bolsonaro confirms the nomination of his son as a pre-candidate for the presidency.
“Throughout my life I have fought difficult battles, paying a high price, with my health and my family, to defend what I believe is best for our Brazil,” Bolsonaro began. “Faced with this scenario of injustice and with the commitment not to let the popular will be silenced, I have taken the decision to nominate Flávio Bolsonaro as pre-candidate for President of the Republic in 2026,” he wrote.
Behind-the-Scenes Trend of Fear and Bottlenecks
Behind the scenes, figures from the right and the Centrão who want to defeat former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) fear that the division will lead to internal clashes in the middle of the campaign, which would facilitate the materialization of the PT member, candidate for re-election. But the chances of a union are slim, leaders say.
Asked this Thursday about his relationship with Tarcísio de Freitas, one of the most popular names to confront Lula, Flávio Bolsonaro had until then considered the union. “Even if many people try to disunite and separate us, that will not happen. We will be together, more together than ever. And we are unbeatable together, we will face everything,” he said.
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Flávio speaks to the press
Luis Nova/Metrópoles2 of 6
Ronaldo Caiado
Aline Massuca/Metropolis Special3 out of 6
Ratinho Junior accuses Lula of trying to “steal” credit for his work
Alan Santos / PR4 out of 6
Governor of Minas Gerais Romeu Zema (NEW)
Kebec Nogueira/Metrópoles5 out of 6
Eduardo Leite received the support of two other parties
Mauricio Tonetto/Disclosure6 of 6
Governor Tarcísio de Freitas
Celso Silva/Government of São Paulo
A bottleneck of right-wing candidates would be natural. Gilberto Kassab’s PSD, if it overcomes internal divisions and maintains the idea of launching its own candidate, will have to at least choose between Eduardo Leite and Ratinho Júnior, with a large advantage of internal support for the governor of Paraná.
Romeu Zema, with weak results in the polls and a party without financial power to facilitate the nationalization of his name, also has an uncertain presence at the polls. Officially, the governor of Minas Gerais declared, after the official launch of Flávio’s pre-candidacy, that he would maintain his plan to run for Planalto.
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Ronaldo Caiado’s candidacy has been submitted. Despite a score of between 2% and 4% in the scenarios tested by the Quaest survey published on 16/12, the governor of Goiás must go to the polls. He comes from União Brasil, a party that tends to repeat the strategy adopted in 2022, by launching its own candidate in the first round and releasing support in the second, if his name does not prosper.
As shown in Metropolises, in Igor Gadelha’s chronicle, Caiado even spoke to Flávio. The governor said he had respect for the former president’s son, but stressed that he would maintain his pre-candidacy and that the two would be together in the runoff, an unlikely scenario given the design of election polls.
Lula and Tarcisio
However, this entire scenario may change with two games. The first is President Lula. Allies and opponents assume that if the president arrives in the second quarter of next year with good results in the polls, few pre-candidates will risk finding themselves without a mandate from 2026 and will try to run for other positions.
If Lula does poorly in March, his allies argue that Tarcísio de Freitas should give up his re-election in São Paulo and run for Planalto. Favorite of the Centrão, he is considered the only one with the power to force the other opponents to give up. Officially, the governor supports Flávio’s candidacy.
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