Among the 17 former ministers of Jair Bolsonaro’s (Liberal Party – PL, right) government who ran for public office in the elections, ten were elected in the 1st and 2nd rounds of the elections.
In May, ten ministers left the government to run in the elections. Before that, another 18 had left or were fired from their positions. Of these, seven ran for State Legislative and Executive positions.
Of the 17 ministers who ran for elective positions in these elections, 12 received Bolsonaro’s official support in their candidacies.
Former Defense Minister Walter Braga Netto (PL) ran for election as vice president on Bolsonaro’s re-election ticket.
The slate was defeated on Sunday, October 30, in the contest against the slate of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Workers’ Party – PT, left) and Geraldo Alckmin (PSB).
Among the four former ministers who did not receive official support from the head of the Executive in their candidacies, three broke with the government:
- Sergio Moro (União), former Minister of Justice and Public Safety;
- Luiz Henrique Mandetta (União Brasil), former Minister of Health;
- Abraham Weintraub (PMB), former Minister of Education.
The former Minister of Women, Family, and Human Rights Damares Alves (Republicans) did not receive official support from the president in her campaign for the Senate for the Federal District because she was competing with the PL candidate for the position, Flávia Arruda.
However, the first lady, Michelle Bolsonaro, supported Damares Alves.
The former ministers’ candidacies helped form Bolsonaro’s platforms in the states.
As Poder360 showed, the high-ranking members’ affiliations were also used to ensure support in the elections and establish alliances with PP, PL, and Republicans.
For the Legislative branch, five former ministers supported by the president sought a seat in the Senate, and four tried to get a federal deputy seat. Another three ran for state government.
Among the former government ministers running for senator, five were elected. Of these, only three were elected with Bolsonaro’s support:
- Teresa Cristina (PP-MS)
- Marcos Pontes (PL-SP)
- Rogério Marinho (PL-RN)
Sérgio Moro and Damares Alves won the race without the official support of the president.
Among the congressional candidates, three were victorious:
- Ricardo Salles (PL-SP)
- Eduardo Pazuello (PL-RJ)
- Osmar Terra (MDB-RS).
Only the former Minister of Infrastructure Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans) was victorious in the race for the State Executive.
Freitas was elected governor of São Paulo in the runoff against Fernando Haddad (PT).
Among the ministers who did not receive the president’s support, three ran for the Senate, and one ran for the House of Representatives: Abraham Weintraub (PMB), former Minister of Education, was not elected to office.
Besides the former ministers, the vice-president of the Republic, Hamilton Mourão (Republicans), ran for the Senate in Rio Grande do Sul and was elected with 44.11% of the valid votes in the state.
With information from Poder360