Bolsonaro vetoes Flávio and scrambles the election for mayor of RJ – 05/20/2023 – Power

The decision of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) to veto the participation of his son, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ), in the dispute for the Prefecture of Rio de Janeiro next year shuffled the political articulations and tends to favor Eduardo Paes (PSD), who will seek re-election.

Flávio had been articulating himself for the candidacy and had guaranteed the support of Governor Cláudio Castro (PL) after internal disagreements. However, he always conditioned the project on his father’s endorsement.

On Thursday (19), Bolsonaro guided the end of the endeavor.

“In the 2024 municipal elections I want him to organize the platforms in the 92 municipalities of Rio, because the PL has the project to create a large number of mayors and councilors throughout Brazil. So we talked and he will communicate to our political group in Rio that will not be a candidate for mayoralty. We will choose the best name to run for the capital with our support,” Bolsonaro told Jovem Pan.

Flávio publicly accepted the request. “I thank my leader Jair Bolsonaro for the words and recognition. I will continue helping my beloved Rio de Janeiro and working for all Rio de Janeiro and Rio de Janeiro citizens here in the Federal Senate.”

Senator Carlos Portinho (PL) is the one who has moved more clearly to assume the candidacy in the party. He met with Bolsonaro and the president of the acronym, Valdemar Costa Neto, to discuss scenarios in the city.

“I am ready for the captain’s call,” he wrote on his social media.

Federal deputy Eduardo Pazuello (PL), Bolsonaro’s former Minister of Health, and federal deputy Otoni de Paula (MDB), who has already been approved as a pre-candidate by the MDB-RJ.

Flávio’s departure also changes Castro’s plans. Without the senator in the dispute, the governor intends to have more weight in the discussion about the name of the PL in the dispute. He advocates support for the state secretary of health, Dr. Luizinho (PP).

With the withdrawal of Bolsonaro’s son, Castro also leaves open the possibility of an alliance with Eduardo Paes. The two maintain good political relations, but there is difficulty in reconciling future political interests in the 2026 election.

The mayor, in turn, may lose the PT’s support, depending on discussions about space on the ticket.

President Lula’s acronym wants to occupy the vice, with an eye on a possible departure of Paes in 2026 to run for state government. The mayor, however, wants his main ally, deputy Pedro Paulo (PSD), to take the post.

Paes intends to maintain this design until the eve of the conventions, in order to have an ace up his sleeve to attract other parties, if the electoral scenario so requires.

Without Bolsonaro’s direct involvement in the campaign, sectors of the PT defend support for Deputy Tarcísio Motta (PSOL). Allies of Paes, however, assess that the party’s support for the mayor is agreed with Lula, with no possibility of change.