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Oct 8, 2026
Caiado’s Flávio Bolsonaro Endorsement Turns Rivalry Into Runoff Alliance
Caiado’s decision is framed by supporters as political convergence in a decisive runoff, while the contrasting account underscores how sharply it departs from his earlier attacks on Flávio Bolsonaro and from his party’s national neutrality.
Ronaldo Caiado, the former Goiás governor and PSD member, announced support for Flávio Bolsonaro in Brazil’s presidential runoff at an event in Goiânia attended by regional allies, including Daniel Vilela and São Paulo Governor Tarcísio de Freitas.
The two accounts agree that the endorsement brings prominent conservative figures together behind Flávio. But they place different weight on what it means. The Brazil Right account presents Caiado’s choice as the continuation of a long-running opposition to the Workers’ Party, quoting him as saying that defeating the PT was “the coherence of my life” after 40 years of political battles.1 It also stresses the tight first-round arithmetic: Flávio led Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva by roughly 2.3 million votes, fewer than the 2.6 million votes Caiado received.
That framing is reinforced by Gracinha Caiado’s appeal to common ground: “Our differences are much smaller than what unites us.”2 Online supporters echoed the momentum, with commentator Rodrigo Constantino calling the development “good news... for Flávio!”
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The Brazil Left account, by contrast, emphasizes the reversal. It notes that Caiado had publicly criticized Flávio during the campaign, when they competed for voters on the right, and portrays the new alliance as an individual decision rather than a party realignment. The PSD, led nationally by Gilberto Kassab, chose neutrality and allowed members to back either finalist.4
Caiado described the endorsement as a matter of “political coherence” and said the Brazilian state should not yield to crime or misconduct. Flávio responded that their alignment went beyond electoral calculation, saying they had “many points of convergence.”4 The report also records speculation among allies that Caiado could take an agriculture or public-security post in a possible Flávio administration, though Flávio did not commit to any appointment.
The result is a coalition defined both by shared runoff priorities and by the recent rivalry it has had to set aside.