Roberto Rocha votes in São Luís and defends support for Flávio Bolsonaro for president

The candidate for the government of Maranhão Roberto Rocha (PRTB) voted this Sunday (4) in São Luís — Photo: Cecília Perri/TV Mirante

The candidate for the government of Maranhão, Roberto Rocha (PRTB), voted this Sunday (4), at UNDB, in the Jardim Renascença neighborhood, in São Luís. He was accompanied by family and supporters.

After registering the vote, Roberto Rocha stated that he hoped that his participation in the election would contribute to taking the dispute for the government of Maranhão to the second round. He also spoke about Flávio Bolsonaro's candidacy for the Presidency of the Republic.

"Look, today is Sunday, a day of democratic celebration. For me, personally, it was supposed to be a very happy day, of celebrations. But, unfortunately, it is a day that I carry the weight of a very big betrayal. The whole of Maranhão knows that I was running for an election for the Senate in first place in all the polls, with real conditions to be a senator of the Republic, representing Maranhão and well representing Brazil in this very difficult time. I, therefore, am in this campaign much more to build the conditions of a platform for the candidate for president of the Republic, Flávio Bolsonaro, in whom I believe, with whom I was a senator. He is the son of a person who was a deputy with me for 12 years, Jair Bolsonaro, and with whom I also lived in the Presidency of the Republic, I can guarantee that he is a serious person, a good person, and I have full confidence that today, Brazilians, if they do not elect him in the first round, will give him victory in the first round and, in the second round, they will. elect Flávio Bolsonaro president of the Republic. As for Maranhão, I hope that our participation has an underlying meaning, which is to create the conditions for the election to be discussed in the second round between two candidates. And these candidates can dialogue with the citizens of Maranhão in a direct way, so that the people of Maranhão can choose who is best to be governor in the next four years.", said the candidate.

Roberto Rocha is 61 years old, born in São Luís, administrator and former senator for Maranhão. Graduated in Business Administration from the Federal University of Maranhão (UFMA), he is married, father of four children and son of former governor Luiz Rocha. He began his political career as a state deputy for PL, between 1991 and 1995.

He then served three terms as a federal deputy: for the PMDB, from 1995 to 1999, and for the PSDB, from 1999 to 2003 and from 2007 to 2011. In 2012, he was elected vice-mayor of São Luís on the ticket of Edivaldo Holanda Júnior. Two years later, he was elected senator for Maranhão by the PSB, a position he held from 2015 to 2023. During his term, he returned to the PSDB. Throughout his political career, he also worked for PTB and Novo before joining the Brazilian Labor Renewal Party (PRTB).