At a campaign event in São Gonçalo, Rio de Janeiro, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva argued that the stakes extend beyond the presidency to the balance of power in Congress. He urged supporters to elect candidates aligned with his government, warning against a right-wing Senate majority.¹

Lula’s sharpest remarks concerned what he called the presence of militia-linked representation in national politics. “Just as Brazil does not fit in anyone’s backyard, the Planalto Palace cannot contain representation of militia figures,” he said, without naming Flávio Bolsonaro directly.¹ Lula’s campaign has nevertheless intensified advertisements associating the senator, his leading opponent, with militia organizations.

Those advertisements cite a nearly R$200,000 parliamentary amendment for a Rio sports project, which was reportedly discussed by a member of Flávio Bolsonaro’s Senate staff and Robson Calixto, known as Peixe. Calixto was convicted by the Supreme Federal Court in connection with the murders of Rio councilwoman Marielle Franco and driver Anderson Gomes.²

The two accounts agree that federal police are investigating possible diversion of the funds. They differ on what that inquiry establishes. Lula’s allies present the episode as part of a broader case against militia influence; the report from the right notes that the investigation itself does not show that Flávio Bolsonaro took part in any alleged diversion or other crimes.²

Bolsonaro denies links to organized crime and says the amendment was allocated within the law. He has responded to Lula’s comments by saying that, if elected, he would seek to classify militias and criminal factions as terrorist groups.²

For Lula, the dispute reinforces his appeal for a friendly Congress and Senate. For Bolsonaro, it centers on the distinction between a continuing investigation and proof of personal wrongdoing—a divide likely to remain central to the campaign.¹