President of the Republicans says support for Flávio Bolsonaro is divided on the right
The national president of the Republicans, Marcos Pereira, once again defended the candidacy of the governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicanos), for Planalto this Friday and stated that the right’s support for Flávio Bolsonaro (PL) in the race for the Presidency has not yet been defined. In addition to the head of the São Paulo Executive, Pereira cited governors Romeu Zema (Novo-MG), Ronaldo Caiado (União-GO) and Ratinho Júnior (PSD-PR) as possible alternatives for this year’s election.
“If I could choose individually (it would be Tarcísio), and my personal choice is not even because Tarcísio is a member of the Republicans. It is because he is competent. He is more to the Center. More balanced. Without a doubt my candidate would be Tarcísio. Now, when it is said that the right is closing with Flávio Bolsonaro, for now everything is not certain yet. Caiado has said that he will be a candidate, Zema and Ratinho too. I don’t think it is closed. On the contrary, it is divided”, said Pereira to Jovem Pan this Friday.
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Tarcísio, on demands for more emphatic support for Flávio: Do you want more than that?
When commenting on the postponement of the visit to the retired captain at “Papudinha”, Tarcísio reinforced that it was just an “agenda issue”
The president of the party also rebutted former federal deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL) for having referred to Tarcísio as “just a server” in an interview with Jornal da Razão on Thursday.
Opportunity with security!
“I thought it was an extremely inelegant and arrogant speech. He (Eduardo) is also just the clerk of the Federal Police. A fugitive. He is on the run in the United States,” said Pereira.
This Friday, Tarcísio attributed his absence from the visit to former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) in Papudinha to a “personal reason” and claimed that he did not feel pressured by Flávio to show support for his candidacy for president.
“More emphatic than that?”, he reacted, referring to the stance he has adopted, when asked about Bolsonarists’ distrust of the episode and demands for more explicit positions in support of Flávio during the delivery of popular housing in Embu das Artes, in the metropolitan region of São Paulo.
“There’s no pressure at all. Because now we’re going to work hard in favor of Flávio Bolsonaro, there won’t be any problems with that. I think, over time, things will settle down. This is absolutely normal. I’m sure we will have a very competitive candidacy”, added the governor.
Tarcísio also stated that his public statements demonstrate “consistency” since the beginning of his term with the idea that he will run for another four years at Palácio dos Bandeirantes. GLOBO showed, however, based on conversations with allies, that the governor was excited about the possibility of facing Lula at the polls and authorized articulations in this sense. He called these reports “speculation.”
Evangelical reaction
As GLOBO showed, Flávio’s candidacy also faces resistance among evangelicals. According to interlocutors, influential pastors answer phone calls, accept private conversations and maintain open channels with the former president’s son, but avoid any public gesture that appears to anticipate a succession.
The assessment circulating in the segment is that the senator does not yet have enough political density to lead the conservative field in 2026 and, therefore, his attempt to present himself as the natural heir is encountering resistance. When contacted, Flávio did not speak out.
The obstacle occurs at a time when a relevant part of the evangelical milieu has insisted on an alternative to reorganize the right: a ticket with Tarcísio and former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro (PL), as vice president. Behind the scenes, the combination is described as electorally more competitive and with greater capacity to mobilize different niches, which has worked, in practice, as an additional brake on the advancement of Flávio’s project.
Refusal of pastors
The first target was pastor Silas Malafaia. According to interlocutors, Flávio called the religious leader with the aim of arranging a dinner and opening a more structured channel, but the attempt was unsuccessful. The assessment among allies is that Malafaia was willing to talk, but avoided giving any signal that could be interpreted as endorsement.
The same attempt was repeated with other poles. Flávio sought contact with pastor Samuel Ferreira, from the Madureira Assembly of God, and tried to build bridges with pastors close to the Universal Kingdom of God. Around the senator, the reading was that these connections could function as shortcuts for denominations with national capillarity and capacity for regional mobilization. Once again, the agenda got stuck. An ally summarized the balance as “welcome without adherence”: he answers, talks, keeps the door ajar — but doesn’t get involved.
