Conventions Open as Lula Locks Minas While Flávio Bolsonaro Seeks Missing Vice and Alliances

Overview

• Conventions began on Monday and run through August 5, the legally prescribed window when parties must ratify candidates and alliances ahead of the August 15 registration deadline.
• The Lula campaign closed its principal vulnerability by naming Patrus Ananias as its PT candidate for governor of Minas Gerais, securing the second‑largest electorate for the president’s map of palanques.
• Flávio Bolsonaro’s presidential effort remains unsettled because he has not named a vice and continues active negotiations with PP, União Brasil and Republicanos, who are trending toward national neutrality.
• State‑level disputes over Senate tickets and gubernatorial palanques in major states such as Rio, Minas, Ceará, Mato Grosso, Rondônia and Goiás remain unresolved and will be decided during the convention period.
• If PP–União Brasil and Republicanos formalize neutrality the PL would lose coalition partners, which could cut campaign TV time and organizational support and shift those parties’ focus to winning legislative seats.