2026 election: Flávio Bolsonaro spends nearly R$50 million, leading presidential candidates’ campaign expenses

Senator Flávio Bolsonaro’s campaign has reported almost R$50 million in spending, putting him far ahead of Brazil’s other presidential candidates. Together, the 13 candidates have declared R$75 million in expenses for the 2026 election, according to an Estadão review of data submitted to the Superior Electoral Court.

Flávio’s R$49.99 million represents 67% of all spending reported so far. The largest share, R$39.6 million, falls under services provided by third parties. For his campaign, that broad category includes advertising and political marketing agencies, press advisers, social media video production, consultants and a security company. Another R$3.3 million went to legal services.

The figures also show a sharp gap between Flávio’s spending and the amount reported by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Lula has declared only R$100,000 so far, almost all of it for advertising materials in print. The data remain preliminary, and campaign committees can continue reporting expenses before the formal accounting deadlines.

Ronaldo Caiado ranks second with R$20.9 million, mainly for radio and television program production and other third-party services. Romeu Zema reported R$2.6 million, including R$930,000 for digital marketing consulting and production. Renan Santos reported R$599,500 and assigned R$8,000 to a newly classified category covering security, prevention, suppression and combating political violence. His campaign also spent R$42,600 on radio, television or video production, although he does not have free election airtime on the first two platforms. The money can also fund online videos.

Flávio leads the candidates in electoral-fund allocations as well, with R$42 million, followed by Lula with R$35 million. Candidates, parties, federations and coalitions must submit partial accounts from Sept. 9 to 13 and final accounts within 30 days of the election. If a runoff occurs, the final deadline is 20 days after the vote.