After being shaken by the "Dark Horse" crisis and a series of internal clashes, the presidential pre-campaign of Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ) has defined a new team and started prioritizing gestures to reanimate the support of the Bolsonaro militant base.
According to aides of the pre-candidate, interaction with the captive right-wing base does not eliminate the effort to present Flávio with a moderate identity, especially since he is seen by allies as a more level-headed politician than his father. But in recent weeks, the focus has been on activating spontaneous voter engagement, something that former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) always enjoyed.
At the same time, Flávio seeks to organize his house after a series of departures in his team, motivated by power struggles and disagreements over electoral strategy. The new marketing and press coordinators hope to use the World Cup period, when the election becomes a secondary issue, to put the new structure into operation and overcome political obstacles, such as the lack of a stage in states like Minas Gerais.
The general assessment is that the pre-campaign is getting back on track after the shock caused by the revelation of audios and messages between Flávio and the owner of Banco Master, Daniel Vorcaro, regarding the financing of the film "Dark Horse," a tribute to Bolsonaro.
Flávio's aides say the crisis has been contained and they do not expect new chapters, contrary to much of the political class, which remains skeptical about the senator. These aides also say the impact on polls was low and recoverable, mainly because Flávio is still Lula's (PT) most competitive opponent and should naturally concentrate all right-wing support in the second round, even if for lack of option.
Since the "Dark Horse" case, the pre-campaign's guidance has been to win back Bolsonaro supporters who may have been disappointed with Flávio and to prevent anti-PT voters from migrating to other right-wing pre-candidates.
The idea of unifying the base is to give Flávio political support to avoid internal speculation within the PL that he could be replaced or would not resist until the end of the campaign. The link between the senator and Vorcaro fueled, for example, the idea of launching former First Lady Michelle Bolsonaro (PL) for the presidency.
Among strategists who left the pre-campaign, there is a complaint that the preference for radical rhetoric aimed at the base will alienate undecided and centrist voters, the group that should decide the election.
Members of the team, on the other hand, say that winning over this volatile electorate could be left for the final stretch or be made possible through segmentation of the target audience and themes. This week, for example, Flávio defended Bolsa Família on one hand and signaled to the base with a video on public security, one of the campaign's main themes.
The senator said he will make an announcement with "terrible news for CV, PCC, and PT." In the video, made with artificial intelligence, he appears piloting a military plane and attacking the factions alongside his father.
Recent ideological signals from Flávio include the trip to the United States for a meeting with Donald Trump, sponsored by Eduardo Bolsonaro and businessman Paulo Figueiredo, and a more intense speech against Lula, including talk of "spiritual war" against evil at the March for Jesus.
On social media, introductory videos of Flávio in which he appears alongside his wife and daughters have lost ground to content confronting the PT.
The new pre-campaign jingle, called "Vem com fé" (Come with faith), aims to translate the message of summoning supporters while targeting evangelicals and Catholics, a segment considered crucial for Flávio. The song says that Brazilians can believe in a better future.
Publicist Eduardo Fischer, known for campaigns like "Brahma número 1," was hired by Flávio's pre-campaign at the end of May as a strategic communication consultant. Journalist Alexandre Oltramari, who was already part of the team, took over the coordination of marketing and communication, and the new jingle is his.
Fischer's entry, who had been away from the market for years, was controversial. PL members wanted to bring a big name in advertising to give prestige and credibility to the pre-campaign, but the businessman is criticized for lack of experience in political marketing and debts of over R$ 100 million caused by the collapse of his businesses.
Since Fischer was announced by Flávio's press office, the senator's office has already received court subpoenas directed at the publicist in enforcement proceedings filed by creditors. Interested in being part of the pre-campaign, Fischer joined the team through contact with PL members and Figueiredo, an influencer who lives in the U.S.
Another pre-campaign hire after the "Dark Horse" crisis was press coordinator Fábio Portela, former Communications Secretary of the city of São Paulo. This week, Flávio announced he will visit the country's main media outlets to ease relations with the press.
General coordinator of Flávio's pre-campaign, Senator Rogério Marinho (PL-RN) asked Ricardo Nunes (MDB) to release his secretary for the post, a gesture that strengthened the bond between the mayor and Bolsonarism forged in the 2024 election.
The pre-campaign is also evaluating hiring the production company of Raul Doria, brother of former Governor João Doria.
Flávio lost, on the other hand, strategists Toninho Neto, a creative publicist with renowned campaigns in his portfolio, Walter Longo, former president of Grupo Abril, and Marcos Aurélio Carvalho, responsible for social media and a member of Bolsonaro's victorious campaigns in 2018 and Lula's in 2022. The first two opposed Fischer's entry.
Until the relationship between Flávio and Vorcaro was revealed in May, the pre-campaign marketing was in charge of Marcello Lopes, a publicist and former police officer who is a friend of the senator and, even outside the team, remains close to him.
Marcellão, as he is known, left the post targeted by the Dark Horse crisis, due to his own links to Vorcaro, which he denies, and a dispute with the PL leadership, which intended to control the pre-campaign's communication.
The publicist and party members exchange accusations about responsibility for the response to the turbulence, considered amateur. Working against Flávio's friend was the fact that he traveled to Disney with his family the day after the audio was revealed. Marcellão says that at that time he was not yet supposed to be leading the campaign because his formal entry was scheduled for the coming months and that he had the senator's approval.
