Salles Says He Backs Bolsonaro but Refuses Automatic Obedience

Overview

• Ricardo Salles, who spoke on Tuesday, said he has “great gratitude and admiration” for Jair Bolsonaro while declaring “I am not a little nativity donkey,” meaning he will not automatically follow all of Bolsonaro’s positions.
• Salles told interviewers that Bolsonaro is unfairly blamed for an attempted coup and that he would support Bolsonaro if he became a presidential candidate, calling himself a backer “from the first to the last hour.”
• He criticized Flávio Bolsonaro for omission in managing internal disputes and said Eduardo Bolsonaro is the most prepared of the brothers to run while praising Michelle Bolsonaro as an even stronger potential candidate and endorsing her for a Senate run.
• The comments sharpened a split within the São Paulo right after Salles was passed over in May for a Senate slot on the Tarcísio de Freitas ticket in favor of André do Prado, a choice backed by elements of the Bolsonaro bloc.
• Reports across Poder360, O Globo and Gazeta do Povo draw on the same UOL and Folha interviews, and the consistent coverage shows Salles positioning himself as an independent right‑wing alternative whose stance could reshape local alliances and voter choices in São Paulo.