Flávio Bolsonaro to announce his finance minister before election

In an interview with influencer Paulo Figueiredo, Flávio praised the governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas, for his loyalty and said that his support in the state will be key. The senator also signaled that he may choose his brother Eduardo Bolsonaro to head Brazilian diplomacy.

Flávio praised Paulo Guedes and said that an early definition of who will lead the economy aims to signal the market that his administration will have a pro-market agenda.

“I intend to announce [the name] also for the transparency of a ticket like this. ‘Look, the direction that the economy will follow under Flávio Bolsonaro will be this one,’” he said. “Definitely [the person will be pro-market]. We will continue what Paulo Guedes had been doing.”

• Congress leaders unlikely to attend Planalto ceremony on Jan. 8
• January 8 must remain a historical warning, Supreme Court chief says

Flávio also said that he has had good conversations with the market and that recent polls, which placed him ahead of Governor Freitas, showed Faria Lima, seen as the Brazilian Wall St., that his name is viable to defeat Lula in 2026. A December Genial/Quaest poll showed that Lula would beat Flávio by 46% to 36% in a possible second round. Against Freitas, Lula’s advantage would be 45% to 35%.

“The first polls [after the announcement of the pre-candidacy] surprised these people, because they show a better result than other names that were on the table and had the market’s preference, as was the case with Tarcísio,” he stated, reinforcing that he would only give up his candidacy for Jair Bolsonaro himself.

Speaking about Freitas, Flávio said that the move to leave the state government to run for president risked the political group losing both races: “Tarcísio, running for reelection, is definitely not going to lose. If he weren’t running for governor, he could lose the state of São Paulo and also, why not, the presidential election to Lula.”

“There are people around him who don’t want to see Tarcísio as president of the Republic; they want to see Tarcísio far from São Paulo. That’s my interpretation. A Tarcísio outside São Paulo opens up an important platform for other players. I always say that Tarcísio has to be strong, and I have to be strong. We have to be together,” he said.

In the interview, Flávio praised the action of U.S. President Donald Trump, who captured the dictator Nicolás Maduro and said it was the only way to free the Venezuelan people from the regime.

The senator signaled that, if elected, he may put his brother, the ousted federal deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro, in charge of diplomacy in his administration. “He is a person who opens doors in practically every country in the world.” Eduardo moved to the U.S. to orchestrate sanctions against Brazilian authorities. He was expelled from Congress in December for absenteeism.