Flávio Bolsonaro’s former strategist says he left campaign over growing disconnect with political leaders

Alexandre Oltramari says his departure from Flávio Bolsonaro’s campaign followed a growing disconnect between his communications team and the campaign’s political command. He left at the end of July after two months overseeing the senator’s advertising and was replaced by Duda Lima, a trusted figure of PL president Valdemar Costa Neto.

In a written interview, his first since leaving the role, Oltramari declined to provide detailed reasons for the change and said he did not feel wronged. He defended the strategy of presenting Flávio as a moderate candidate, arguing that it had produced results. He also rejected the idea that the change aimed to slow that approach and bring the senator closer to Jair Bolsonaro’s political base.

Oltramari described the split as the result of signals he learned to interpret during two decades in Brasília politics. He said the PL had a legitimate desire to place someone closer to the party’s political leadership in charge of communications, leaving his team uncomfortable with the widening gap.

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I think this video has already had a very positive impact: it brought an unprecedented and very important discussion to the highest court of the Electoral Justice system, which could serve as a guide for the entire 2026 election.

He also defended a video featuring an AI-generated image of Jair Bolsonaro that appeared at Flávio’s convention. Oltramari, who was still the campaign strategist and helped create the idea, said the video should not be called a deepfake because it did not seek to deceive viewers. The image immediately states, “I am not me. This is an image generated by artificial intelligence.”

The Superior Electoral Court is expected to consider this week whether to authorize the use of the technology in campaigns, with a tendency toward a ban. Oltramari said the video had a positive impact by bringing an unprecedented debate before Brazil’s highest electoral court. He hopes the case will lead to clear rules for AI use in the 2026 election.

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I am not me. This is an image generated by artificial intelligence.