Minas Gerais is in the sights of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL). Ineligible since last year, the former head of the Brazilian Executive sees in the state the possibility of building a strong base for his legacy, promoting new Bolsonarist names.
Bolsonaro’s goal, at the beginning of his pre-campaign, is to win over the electorate in Belo Horizonte, Uberaba, Divinópolis, Uberlândia and Santa Luzia.
Behind the scenes, Minas was chosen among the three states in which Bolsonaro will act politically. The former president will visit Uberlândia and Uberaba, in the Triângulo Mineiro, on the 2nd and 3rd. Bolsonaro will also concentrate his efforts in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
So far, the strategy of promoting candidacies aims to increase the number of elected mayors aligned with the former government, with the prospect of strengthening Bolsonaro’s innocence narrative by 2026.
Currently, the former president is the target of investigations conducted by the Federal Police, which focus on an alleged coup conspiracy, covering suspicions of corruption, involvement in the appropriation of state jewelry and tampering with vaccination cards.
In BH, the capital of Minas Gerais, the person chosen to represent Bolsonaro’s legacy is state deputy Bruno Engler (PL-MG). With more than half a million votes, becoming the most voted state deputy in the history of Minas, Engler boosted his campaign alongside his friend and federal deputy Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG).
At 26 years old, he stands out as one of the leaders of the group “Direita Minas”, known for promoting the former president’s image on social media.
The state deputy had already run for mayor of BH in 2020, but ended up in second place with 9.95% of the votes, behind Alexandre Kalil (PSD), re-elected with 63.36%.
What stands out is that Engler, like the others chosen by Bolsonaro for Minas, is what can be called a “root Bolsonaro supporter”, a faithful follower of the former president and all the statements he made in the media.
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During the pandemic, he advocated for early treatment and discouraged social distancing. He was the target of criticism at ALMG for his way of dressing – jackets and flip-flops – and is controversial on social media, facing personalities such as Felipe Neto and Anitta.
For EM, he has already stated that he is “privileged” for choosing the former president. Engler, almost monthly, goes to Brasília to align with Bolsonaro on the campaign to conquer the capital of Minas Gerais.
Just like his colleague from BH, Samir Cecílio (PL-MG) only gets 10 when the question is the Bolsonarist “beabá”. Chosen by Jair Bolsonaro for Uberaba City Hall, he faces a second challenge: restructuring the PL in the city, which suffers from a lack of members.
Cecílio was the best-voted councilor in the city’s history and on social media he follows the guide of the former president’s supporters. Wearing the colors green and yellow, he demonstrated on Avenida Paulista at the beginning of the month, when Bolsonaro promoted a protest in his defense.
On Instagram, the former councilor posted photos alongside the former president and celebrated his nomination as a candidate for mayor.
“After a few months of construction and party meetings, the decision was taken following the Captain’s guidance, which was always clear: to unite and strengthen the bases in the main cities of Brazil. Uberaba, being the 6th largest economy in Minas Gerais, in addition to the role that plays in Brazilian agribusiness, will have its representative who thinks both about the city and about the responsibility of laying the foundations for the future”, he wrote.
With videos criticizing communism and current president Luiz Inácio da Silva, the PL candidate in Uberaba also resembles another Bolsonaro ally, governor Romeu Zema (Novo).
Businessman and millionaire, as well as the head of the Minas Gerais Executive, Cecílio is against “career politicians” and believes that people should only apply after achieving success in other areas. According to him, this is how good management is proven.
In Divinópolis, in the Center-West of Minas Gerais, Bolsonaro’s chosen one is an old friend and political ally. Gleidson Azevedo (Novo) is the brother of senator Cleitinho (Republicans), one of the former president’s biggest supporters in the National Congress.
Like his brother, the mayor – who is a candidate for re-election – is a staunch Bolsonaro supporter. Outspoken and outspoken, he is known for his social media videos that criticize the political system.
On Instagram, one of his main targets are members of the left from Divinópolis, with emphasis on state deputy Lohanna (PV), whom Gleidson calls a “liar”. The parliamentarian is one of those tipped to face him in the October elections this year.
In the last elections, when Bolsonaro was still facing Lula, Gleidson was responsible for a religious demonstration in support of the elections and even made a promise: to not drink soda until the former president was elected.
At the time, he recorded a video defending Bolsonaro, citing the abstentions, the votes received by the opponent, as well as the null ones, and calling on “everyone” to “change the game”.
Joints
Still in the sights of former president Bolsonaro are the cities of Uberlândia and Santa Luzia. The two places are still undergoing internal PL coordination, but they highlight two names of staunch Bolsonarism: state deputy Caporezzo (PL-MG) and pedagogue Fábia Lima (PL-MG).
In the case of Uberlândia, the option of launching Caporezzo is still being studied. The deputy has been standing out on social media for his personality and strong opinions. Wearing the colors green and yellow and collecting controversies, he is known in ALMG as the “pro-gun Bolsonaro supporter”.
However, in this case, just supporting the former president does not seem to be crucial. This is because Bolsonaro also has another great ally in the city: Mayor Oldemo Leão (PP), who intends to launch his deputy Paulo Sérgio (PP) to continue his mandate.
To date, Bolsonaro has not made a decision on the matter. Behind the scenes, according to allies, it is very likely that the former president will suggest a mixed ticket, with both Caporezzo and Paulo Sérgio. The decision should be made in the coming weeks.
In Santa Luzia, the situation seems a little more favorable for pedagogue Fábia Lima. She was introduced to Jair Bolsonaro at the beginning of the month in Brasília, with Nikolas Ferreira, Bruno Engler and Cleitinho as godparents.
It is worth remembering that Nikolas and Engler intend to choose key cities to engage in next year’s election. Santa Luzia is on their radar, as both obtained good votes in the municipality in 2022. The assessment of the political group of parliamentarians is that Fábia, owner of a private school that bears her name, can be competitive in the race for Mayor.
