Former governor of Minas Gerais and pre-candidate for president Romeu Zema (Novo) participates in a seminar at the American Chamber of Commerce. LEANDRO CHEMALLE/THENEWS2/ESTADÃO CONTÚDO By betting on Romeu Zema's name for the Presidency of the Republic, Novo tries to establish itself as a right-wing alternative to Bolsonarism. In the states, however, the party has not been able to give up alliances with Flávio Bolsonaro's PL, to increase the benches and guarantee the breaking of the so-called barrier clause. 🎯The rule establishes that parties must reach a minimum percentage of valid votes for the Chamber of Deputies or a minimum number of elected deputies to have access to resources from the Party Fund and advertising time on radio and TV. 🎯 🎯2.5% of valid votes are required, distributed across at least nine states, with at least 1.5% of valid votes in each of them, or elect 13 federal deputies, distributed across at least nine states. The president of the party, Eduardo Ribeiro, assesses that the party arrives in 2026 with more muscle from a political and financial point of view. In the 2018 and 2022 elections, Novo did not use resources from the Party and Electoral Funds, a strategy revised in the 2024 municipal elections and which, according to him, yielded results. The party went from 35 councilors and a mayor, elected in 2020, to 264 councilors, 36 vice-mayors and 19 mayors, four years later. "Over this entire period [2018 to 2024], we have accumulated almost R$100 million in party funds and there is also the electoral fund that we will have. And we are going to use it all. We have already expanded the party a lot since two years ago when we started using party funds, so part of that money has already gone. But we must arrive at the election with a budget of R$80, R$90 million, something much more than what we had", he stated Ribeiro. Now on g1 According to data released by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), Novo will have an additional R$37 million in Electoral Fund for this year's elections. With more resources in hand, the party president's expectation is to repeat the leap in municipal elections in this year's dispute, when the party should have a full nomination in most of the country's states. 🔎 Having a complete nomitata means that the party will have a candidate in all possible vacancies in a dispute. In the case of states, in the 2026 elections, governor, vice-governor and state deputy. In the Chamber of Deputies, where the party has five deputies, the party's projection is to increase the bench to at least 12. "At least 12, but the most optimistic projection would be 15 to 20 deputies. If everything goes wrong, we'll have 12. And if Zema grows, goes beyond double digits and becomes more competitive, the tendency is to attract more", said Ribeiro. Zema Statements Although Novo is betting that Romeu Zema's candidacy will boost the performance of its candidates for the Legislature, it was precisely a statement by the former governor of Minas Gerais that shook state platforms. As soon as audios and messages from Flávio were revealed, charging former banker Daniel Vorcaro for payments for the film about Jair Bolsonaro, Zema spoke out on social media saying that the senator's stance was “unforgivable”. "Flávio Bolsonaro, hearing you demanding money from Vorcaro is unforgivable. It's a slap in the face to good Brazilians. There's no point in criticizing the practices of Lula and the PT and doing the same thing", said Zema on the day the conversations came to light. The governor justified his position to his party colleagues, claiming it was a matter of "coherence". The speech, however, generated discomfort among party members, mainly in the Santa Catarina, Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul directorates, which share the platform with the PL. In Santa Catarina, Novo will be on the ticket of governor Jorginho Mello, who is from PL, with the former mayor of Joinville, Adriano Silva, as vice-president. In Paraná, the party is on the ticket of the senator and candidate for state government, Sergio Moro, who went to the PL in conjunction with Flávio, and with the former federal deputy Deltan Dallagnol candidate for the Senate. In Rio Grande do Sul, federal deputy Marcel Van Hattem, a first-time ally of Zema, is a pre-candidate for the Senate on the ticket of his colleague in the Chamber, Luciano Zucco (PL). The directories of Santa Catariana and Paraná even published notes reinforcing local alliances and classifying Zema's position as “hasty”, the same tone as Flávio's own response to the former governor of Minas. After the internal criticism, Zema moderated his tone in his criticism of Flávio and refocused his artillery on President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT). Third way chess The strategy of moderating the dialogue calmed the state platforms, but did not give Zema growth in the polls. In the latest Quaest survey, Renan Santos (Missão) appeared numerically ahead of Zema, with 3% of voting intentions, and tied with Ronaldo Caiado (PSD). Unlike Zema who stopped attacking Flávio, Renan, even identifying himself as right-wing, has repeatedly criticized Flávio, even more than President Lula. The assessment within Novo is that the party is aligned with Missão on moral issues, in defense of the fight against corruption, and that in the Legislature, the parties will be together in many votes. Despite this, the orientation is to maintain pragmatism and not break with Bolsonarism, at least until the 2026 elections.