Federal deputy Nikolas Ferreira of Minas Gerais, who received 1.47 million votes in the 2022 general election—the highest for any congressional candidate that year—is working to elect a bloc of allied candidates across Brazil’s 26 states and the Federal District. According to O Globo, Ferreira’s goal is to have at least ten federal deputies and nine state deputies in Minas Gerais, forming what he describes as an “army” of politicians aligned with his principles.
Strategy and Goals
Ferreira says he wants to elect federal deputies primarily from the Liberal Party (PL) and the New Party (Novo), with additional candidates from the Republicans (Republicanos) and the Progressive Party (PP). In Minas Gerais, his target is nine state legislators spread throughout the state’s regions. He argues that electing ten or more federal deputies would be historic and would create the largest bench of young federal deputies in Brazil’s history.
Candidate Selection
The recruits are drawn mainly from social media, including young city councilors and digital influencers. Their platforms include opposition to abortion, ending what they call university “indoctrination,” combating the so‑called “gender ideology,” and resisting feminism. Notable names include influencer Pedro Pôncio, who says he is a former member of the Landless Workers’ Movement (MST) and is running for a federal seat in São Paulo under the Novo banner, and Júlia de Castro, a PL precandidate for federal deputy in Rio de Janeiro who gained attention after saying she faced persecution at her university for declaring support for Bolsonaro.
Content Production
Since mid‑July, Ferreira and his candidates have released two types of videos. One shows Ferreira alongside candidates before a black background, a visual style he uses in posts about the Pix instant‑payment system and controversies at the National Institute of Social Security (INSS). The other features Ferreira “invading” the candidates’ social media with selfie‑style recordings made on a phone’s front camera. The scripts are largely identical, with only minor changes to reference different states. Participants told O Globo that more videos will be released during the campaign.
Learning from Past Elections
In 2022, Ferreira’s endorsement helped elect Bruno Engler as a state deputy in Minas Gerais, but the same coalition also brought in other politicians who were not fully aligned with him. Ferreira says he is now avoiding that outcome by personally choosing his slate and using his influence to block other leaders from entering his political sphere. Earlier this year he publicly opposed the possible party switch of former deputy Eduardo Cunha (Republicanos) into the PL, exposing a rift with PL president Valdemar Costa Neto over proportional‑ticket control in Minas Gerais.
State‑Level Plans
Beyond Minas, Ferreira has named allies in other states: Rio Grande do Sul (councilor Hiago Stock), Paraná (councilor Guilherme Kilter), Santa Catarina (councilor Beatriz Borba)—all from Novo—and Roraima (businesswoman Athally Albuquerque, Republicans) and Goiás (councilor Sanches da Federal, PP). He also pledged support for candidates in Amazonas, the Federal District, Pernambuco, Acre, and Espírito Santo.
Messaging and Vision
Ferreira repeatedly tells supporters that “the present is theirs, but the future is ours,” a line adopted by his candidates. In videos he describes a “battle” to sweep away the old politics in Brasília and says he needs “trench‑allies” who think like him and the electorate. He has also appeared with São Paulo councilor Lucas Pavanato (PL), the country’s most‑voted councilor in 2024, and reinforced his partnership with Santa Catarina state deputy Ana Campagnolo (PL), who is running for re‑election despite criticism from hard‑line Bolsonaristas over her opposition to Carlos Bolsonaro’s Senate bid.
All selected candidates have received instructions to distribute standardized campaign material, such as pamphlets known locally as “santinhos,” and have been granted access to video recordings made during media days in Belo Horizonte and Brasília, which Ferreira says were self‑funded.