Deputy Nikolas Ferreira is facing blame from a faction of Brazil's Liberal Party after Flávio Bolsonaro suffered defeat in Minas Gerais during the second round of the elections.
The internal search for culprits was reported by political analyst Larissa Rodrigues on the Bastidores CNN program on Monday, October 26. Citing party insiders and campaign organizers, Rodrigues reported that Ferreira was the first name singled out as officials examined the adverse result in the state.
Campaign organizers had entered the runoff confident that heavy efforts in Minas Gerais were unnecessary. Strategists relied on Flávio's lead in the state during the first round of voting and counted on Ferreira, who had been deployed almost as a luxury campaign surrogate to rally regional support.
Campaign travel across Brazil
Instead of focusing on Minas Gerais, Ferreira traveled across Brazil to promote party proposals and candidates. He appeared at events sometimes alongside Flávio and other times alone, taking responsibility for carrying the Liberal Party's presence to different regions.
According to the reporting, Ferreira relegated Minas Gerais to a secondary priority while focusing on other states, leaving campaign officials without any warning of a possible turnaround. Meanwhile, the rival Workers' Party identified shifting voter sentiment and intensified its presence across the state.
The trend was also noted by the newly elected governor of Minas Gerais, Cleitinho of the Republicanos party. Rodrigues reported that Cleitinho had signaled the rising support for the Workers' Party and consequently avoided tying himself too closely to Flávio's campaign.
Ferreira represents Minas Gerais in the Chamber of Deputies and is a leading conservative figure in the Liberal Party, the right-wing movement led by former president Jair Bolsonaro. Minas Gerais, located in southeastern Brazil, is the country's second most populous state and serves as a vital political battleground where right-wing candidates compete against the leftist Workers' Party.
Criticism over debate strategy and economic plans
Ferreira is not the only figure facing criticism inside the party following the second-round loss. Rodrigues reported that campaign insiders have also directed blame toward the campaign's economic coordinator, Daniella Marques.
CNN anchor Gustavo Uribe noted that two public statements made by Marques proved controversial. Party members pointed to her remarks regarding the replacement of civil servants with artificial intelligence and her comments on transition rules for the Bolsa Família welfare program.
Political influencer Pablo Marçal, of the PRTB party in São Paulo, has also drawn blame within the campaign over the strategy prepared for Flávio in the debate broadcast by the Band television network.
In addition, party insiders viewed the heavy participation of São Paulo Governor Tarcísio de Freitas, also of Republicanos, as having arrived too late. Freitas joined the campaign actively only for the second debate in the final days of the race, leaving the Liberal Party confronting internal recriminations over its strategy.
