By Carol Amancio
Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, who is under house arrest, has asked Justice Alexandre de Moraes of the Supreme Federal Court (STF), Brazil's highest court, for permission to receive Senators Rogério Marinho (Liberal Party, PL-RN) and Tereza Cristina (Progressives, PP-MS) at his home. Both have put themselves forward in the race to lead the Brazilian Senate. The meeting happens only if Moraes approves it.
Two right-wing names, one seat
The election for the Senate's governing board (Mesa Diretora) is set for February of next year. Marinho and Tereza Cristina have both said they intend to run, and neither has backed down so far.
Marinho is the opposition leader in the Senate and coordinator of Flávio Bolsonaro's presidential campaign. Among Bolsonaro's supporters he is the favorite for the post. His name was officially launched by Flávio during a live broadcast made from the United States.
Even so, Tereza Cristina, of the PP, reaffirmed this week that she wants to run. Her decision leaves open a question that worries the conservative camp: who will be the candidate.
The risk of splitting the Brazilian right
The visit request is no minor gesture. The right is looking for an understanding between the two candidacies so that the camp's votes are not divided. If they are, the one who could benefit is the current Senate president, Davi Alcolumbre (União Brasil-AP), an ally of the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who will seek another term.
Marinho and Tereza Cristina have something in common: both served as ministers in Jair Bolsonaro's government. She ran the Agriculture Ministry, and he ran the Regional Development Ministry. That shared history explains why the former president is seen as a natural go-between in the conversation.
Moraes holds the key
For now, the meeting depends entirely on a stroke of Moraes's pen. According to the material available so far, the justice has not yet responded to the request. If he approves, Bolsonaro will receive both senators at home just as the race for the Senate gets under way. If he refuses, the talks continue through other channels, and the clock toward a decision keeps running.
February is still far off, but the right must decide before then whether it goes into the vote with one name or two. Moraes's answer and the outcome of this conversation could point the way.
Background: why it matters
Jair Bolsonaro was Brazil's president from 2019 to 2022. Alexandre de Moraes is a justice of the STF. The Senate presidency is one of the most powerful posts in Brazilian politics, and the Senate's governing board is chosen by the senators themselves. Control of the chamber matters for the opposition because the current Senate president is an ally of the Lula government.
VDD Analysis
The Senate race is the most important contest for the conservative camp in the legislature, and unity around one name is the condition for taking the presidency of the chamber out of the hands of an ally of the Lula government. That a former president needs STF authorization to receive two senators shows the weight of the restrictions imposed on him. Marinho and Tereza Cristina have the résumé and the legitimacy; the challenge is turning that strength into a single vote.
