Despite being quick, the visit of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) to Santa Catarina, this Tuesday (23), had important electoral weight in linking the Liberal Party’s pre-candidacies to the figure of the former president. Bolsonaro met with around 150 candidates for positions in the next October election – it was a kind of “blessing” for the candidacies, guaranteeing photos that will certainly be explored during the electoral campaign.
One of the party’s strategies is to invest in the former president to garner votes and differentiate itself from other right-wing parties. What can significantly contribute to this is the major event that Bolsonaro intends to hold in the state in June. The information was confirmed at the party meeting and should be “along the lines of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo”, said state deputy Maurício Peixer.
Bolsonaro’s PL wants to elect 800 councilors in SC and create up to 80 city halls. Today, the acronym governs 56 of the 295 municipalities in Santa Catarina.
The party meeting took place in São José, a city in the metropolitan region of Florianópolis. The host was the party’s pre-candidate in the city, Adeliana Dal Pont. According to the newspaper The globe, she was reportedly banned from taking the stage at the demonstration after Bolsonaro discovered that she criticized his federal management during the Covid-19 pandemic. The PL says it is a “rumor is unfounded” and that Pont remains a pre-candidate in the city.
During the speech, “Bolsonaro said that he considers Santa Catarina to be the best state in Brazil, a developed state and that it has very good and hard-working people,” said state deputy Maurício Peixer. Images of politicians with Bolsonaro dominated social media, but one in particular caught attention: that of the mayor of Canoinhas, Juliana Maciel, who became known after publishing a video, last Wednesday (17), throwing several books in the trash, which she classified as “crap” that would lead children and teenagers to “values that we don’t believe in”. She posted a photo with Bolsonaro, Santa Catarina governor Jorginho Mello and state deputy Maurício José Eskudlark with the following caption: “Can you imagine what the issue was with our eternal president Jair Bolsonaro? Today I was with the most beloved ex in Brazil.”
Bolsonaro landed at the airport in the capital of Santa Catarina around 11 am, being received by supporters. From there, he went in a convoy to São José. He was in an open truck along with governor Jorginho Mello (PL), vice-governor Marilisa Boehm (PL) and the son Jair Renan, pre-candidate for councilor for the PL in Balneário Camboriú. The group was followed by a motorcycle to a shooting club, where lunch was held.
At an evangelical congress, Bolsonaro remembers the stabbing and criticizes the STF
From São José, Bolsonaro went to Camboriú, where he participated in the Gideons Congress. At the evangelical event, the former president recalled the stab wound he received during the 2018 election campaign, in Juiz de Fora (MG), and thanked him for his “second life”. He also made veiled criticisms of the Federal Supreme Court (STF). “Thank you God for the mission of being at the head of the Executive for four years, with difficult moments, such as the pandemic, water crisis, and facing the other power that harmed much more than it helped, but we got through,” said Bolsonaro during a speech at the event in SC .
He also took the opportunity to praise his wife, Michelle. “The certainty is that we did have the best first lady in Brazil. An evangelical person, I am a Christian, and if I hadn’t had the solidity of our family by our side, we wouldn’t have gotten anywhere.” With Bolsonaro ineligible, the former first lady is one of the PL’s bets and could be a candidate in the 2026 elections.
Jorginho Mello’s participation in the event was criticized by the opposition
The governor of Santa Catarina, Jorginho Mello (PL), followed all of the former president’s events in the state: from Florianópolis airport to São José, then to the evangelical congress in Camboriú. The agenda generated criticism from the opposition for two reasons: state teachers are on strike since Monday (22) and have still not managed to meet with the governor for negotiations; Furthermore, Mello did not participate in the visits of Lula’s (PT) ministers to the state.
“Interesting how the governor of SC never has time to receive ministers, but always finds a gap in his schedule to hang out with the ineligible. The teaching profession is on strike, needing a solution for education and the governor is in no hurry. Jorginho, it’s time to get off the podium”, wrote state deputy Luciane Carminatti (PT) on the social network X, formerly Twitter.
In fact, Bolsonaro’s agenda in the capital of SC was changed due to the teachers’ demonstration in the city center. The former president would leave the airport and visit the Public Market, however he went straight to lunch in São José, to avoid possible conflicts between his supporters and the teachers.
Federal deputy Ana Paula Lima (PT) cited the recent crisis in Santa Catarina hospitals, which drew criticism of the government from the president of the state’s Legislative Assembly, Mauro de Nadal (MDB). “While hospitals are full and state teachers are on strike, the governor is holding marches and making fun of the former president without a mandate on social media. Is this your priority, Jorginho? This is a lack of responsibility towards the people”, he published on X.
