Flávio uses factions, AI videos and security crisis to wear down Lula
The campaign of Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ), pre-candidate for the Presidency, expanded the strategy of trying to wear down President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on the issue of factions with videos using artificial intelligence, speeches by the Chief Executive and criticism of the rates of violence in states commanded by the PT.
Since the United States announced the decision to consider the First Capital Command (PCC) and the Red Command (CV) terrorist organizations, on Wednesday night, Flávio has centered his communication efforts on security. There were twelve publications from Thursday night until Sunday talking about the topic on X, formerly Twitter.
“The days of the PCC and CV narco-terrorists are numbered to come to an end… and so are the days of Lula!”, said Flávio in one of the messages.
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Among the contents is a video in which Flávio rescues Lula’s speeches against equating the factions as terrorists while showing scenes of violence promoted by criminal groups around the country. In the piece, the pre-campaign video says “It’s not Flávio against Lula, it’s Lula against all of Brazil”.
Other pre-campaign content shows a video made with AI in which a caricature of Lula leaving the White House is shown. In the montage, Lula appears wearing a shirt that reads “Trump, leave our criminals alone”.
The PL presidential candidate also shared a post by federal deputy André Fernandes (PL-CE), in which the parliamentarian criticizes Lula and the PT and mentions the security crisis experienced by Ceará, governed by the president’s party.
Data from the Violence Atlas, released by the Institute of Applied Economic Research (Ipea) and the Brazilian Public Security Forum (FBSP) last Tuesday, show that Ceará is among the most violent states in the country.
The state is in sixth place in the number of homicides in 2024, according to the rate, with 34.3 per 100,000 inhabitants. Bahia, which is also administered by the PT, is in fifth place in the ranking, with 40.9 per 100 thousand inhabitants.
The most recent research carried out by Quaest on the subject shows that public security is the biggest concern of the Brazilian population, with 31% of mentions, ahead of other topics such as social problems, economy, corruption and health.
Exploring the security issue is one of the ways that Flávio’s campaign seeks to make political gains and reverse weeks of wear and tear.
The senator was the protagonist of a scandal after it was revealed that he asked former banker Daniel Vorcaro for money to finance a film in honor of former president Jair Bolsonaro.
Despite this, classifying the groups as terrorists is still not a consensus, even among parliamentarians far from the left.
The president of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Nelsinho Trad (PSD-MS), shows concern when talking about the topic:
“A possible classification of these factions as terrorist organizations by the United States needs to be analyzed with caution. The fight against organized crime is necessary and urgent, but it cannot open the door to any type of interference with national sovereignty,” he said in a statement.
Congress even debated a legislative change that classifies the factions as terrorists, but the issue did not move forward. A project in this regard, authored by deputy Danilo Forte (PP-CE), is stalled in the House.
Furthermore, the Chamber and Senate rejected including the equivalent to terrorism in the anti-faction law.
On the other side, parliamentarians from the government’s base try to judicialize the issue. Deputies from PSOL and Rede filed a lawsuit asking the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) to investigate his actions with the American government. Parliamentarians accuse Flávio of attacking national sovereignty.
The decision was announced by the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, and took place in the same week that Flávio had meetings with American President Donald Trump and Rubio himself.
In another vein, deputy Lindbergh Farias (PT-RJ) filed another action, targeting developments in the Master case. The PT member asks that Interpol enter the case so that there is “international criminal cooperation to investigate possible money laundering, concealment of final beneficiaries and transnational triangulation of resources related to the financing of the film Dark Horse”.
