Flávio Bolsonaro reinforces offensive in Ceará before PL decision on support for Ciro Gomes

The visit to the capital of Ceará takes place two weeks after the release of the video of former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro, who made complaints about the political seams made by Jair Bolsonaro's children and harshly criticized the alliance in Ceará with Ciro.

In Fortaleza, Flávio Bolsonaro will participate in the launch of the pre-candidacy for the Senate of state deputy Alcides Fernandes, father of federal deputy André Fernandes and main guarantor of the alliance with Ciro, in a broad alliance strategy to face governor Elmano de Freitas (PT).

The senator's presence at the event is seen as a gesture of support for Alcides and should isolate councilor Priscila Costa (PL), vice-president of PL Mulher who is moving to run for the Senate with the support of Michelle Bolsonaro.

In recent weeks, the PL's national leadership has made calls for unity. But there was no consensus amid the dispute that divided the conservative camp in Ceará and exposed fissures between PL leaders and within the Bolsonaro family itself.

Priscila Costa continues to claim that she is a pre-candidate for the Senate, but declared her support for Flávio Bolsonaro for the Presidency and spoke of pacifying the group in Ceará: "I will not fuel any type of conflict."

Even with two seats up for grabs, it is unlikely that the PL will launch two names to run for the Senate. In the conservative camp, former federal deputy Captain Wagner (União Brasil) will also run for the position.

Federal deputy André Fernandes (PL) stated, through his press office, that the PL will decide on the candidacy for the Senate at the conventions, which take place between July 20th and August 5th. He also denied the possibility of launching his own candidacy for government.

"There is no chance of the PL launching its own candidacy for the Government of Ceará. The party will be with Ciro Gomes, and that has already been decided", stated the deputy.

The position is followed by the majority of the party's federal and state deputies in Ceará, who defend a ticket with Alcides for the Senate and Ciro Gomes for the government.

The PL's national leadership works towards a consensual solution. "I am convinced that everyone is united to help elect Flávio Bolsonaro president", says the leader of the PL in the Chamber, deputy Sóstenes Cavalcante (RJ).

The fight between Michelle and Bolsonaro's children for the Ceará platform began in December 2025, after she publicly criticized the alliance with Ciro. At the time, Flávio and his brothers Eduardo, Carlos Bolsonaro and Jair Renan criticized their stepmother on social media and defended André Fernandes.

Michelle said that the other stepchildren repeated Flávio's attacks and that she was left with the impression that everything had been "arranged, premeditated".

In videos released two weeks ago, the former first lady stated that she had been humiliated, disrespected and mistreated by her stepson, again criticized the alliance with Ciro Gomes and defended the PL's support for senator Eduardo Girão (Novo), whom she sees as the only right-wing candidate in Ceará.

The presidential candidate later went public to state that he never disrespected women and that "I would never do that to my own father's wife". Since the publication of the video, Michelle has submerged herself and avoided further public statements on the subject. She left the presidency of PL Mulher and indicated that she is considering not contesting the elections for the Senate in the Federal District.

Allies of Michelle and Flávio say they do not see any sign of reconciliation between the two and already admit that the former first lady should even stay away from her stepson's pre-campaign for the Presidency of the Republic.

Ciro should not participate in the event with Flávio Bolsonaro and has signaled that he should avoid the presidential contest. He stated in recent weeks that the crisis in the PL is an internal matter for the party and that it is not up to him to speak out about a party to which he is not affiliated.

Despite having a history of strong antagonism towards Bolsonarism -especially in the 2018 and 2022 presidential elections-, the former minister began to defend a broad front against the PT, which has governed Ceará for 12 years.

For PL, approaching Ciro represents a change in strategy. Instead of insisting on its own candidacy with little chance of victory, the management assessed that it would be more advantageous to guarantee a competitive candidacy for the Senate and strengthen the federal bench.

In recent weeks, Ciro Gomes and André Fernandes sought to reinforce political alignment, with the simultaneous publication of content criticizing Governor Elmano de Freitas' management of public security, an issue that should dominate the campaign.

In the government camp, Elmano de Freitas faces divisions in his allied base, which has postponed the definition of the majority ticket. PT's main political ally in the state, senator Cid Gomes isolated himself on his farm in Serra da Meruoca and did not participate in an agenda like President Lula (PT) last week.

Cid maintained his support for Elmano even with his brother, Ciro Gomes' candidacy for government, with whom he has had a break since 2022. He has been under pressure to run for re-election to the Senate, but is working to get federal deputy Júnior Mano (PSB) to run for the position.

Other names such as federal deputies Eunício Oliveira (MDB) and Luizianne Lins (Rede) also ran as pre-candidates for the Senate.

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