The single largest expense recorded so far this year
Quando o mandato legislativo se entrelaça com a ambição eleitoral, os cofres públicos passam a financiar uma fronteira cada vez mais tênue entre representação e campanha. No Brasil de 2026, o Senado Federal registrou um salto de 64% nos gastos com escolta policial de senadores, impulsionado sobretudo pelas viagens internacionais de Flávio Bolsonaro como pré-candidato à presidência — percurso que passou pelo Oriente Médio, Europa e Estados Unidos. A questão que emerge não é apenas contábil, mas filosófica: até onde o Estado deve custear a presença pública de quem já ocupa um cargo e simultaneamente busca outro?
- Os gastos do Senado com diárias de escolta policial saltaram de R$1,1 milhão para R$1,8 milhão nos primeiros cinco meses de 2026, com três senadores candidatos como principal vetor do aumento.
- Flávio Bolsonaro realizou ao menos três viagens aos Estados Unidos e uma extensa turnê pelo Oriente Médio e Europa, gerando a maior despesa individual do ano: R$157 mil em diárias para dois policiais em um único dia.
- A tensão se acirrou quando Bolsonaro tentou inicialmente que o Senado cobrisse todos os custos de suas viagens, recuando após repercussão pública — o partido agora arca com despesas além das diárias e passagens dos agentes.
- A opacidade institucional alimenta a desconfiança: o Senado se recusa a informar qual senador é protegido por qual agente, quais viagens geraram quais despesas ou quanto custa a segurança de cada parlamentar.
- Sergio Moro e Angelo Coronel também figuram entre os senadores com escolta, mas é o rastro internacional de Bolsonaro que domina os números e concentra o escrutínio público.
Nos primeiros cinco meses de 2026, o Senado Federal gastou R$1,8 milhão com diárias de policiais legislativos que escoltam senadores em viagens — 64% a mais do que no mesmo período do ano anterior. O aumento tem um protagonista claro: Flávio Bolsonaro, pré-candidato à presidência pelo PL e filho do ex-presidente Jair Bolsonaro, que transformou o calendário internacional em palco de campanha.
Desde o início do ano, Bolsonaro percorreu Israel, Bahrein, Emirados Árabes, Qatar e França, além de ao menos três visitas aos Estados Unidos — país onde seu irmão reside e onde, nesta semana, se reuniu com o presidente Donald Trump. Cada deslocamento veio acompanhado de escolta paga pelo Senado. Em 16 de janeiro, data de início da turnê pelo Oriente Médio, dois policiais receberam juntos R$157 mil em diárias — o maior gasto registrado no ano. Em 25 de março, primeiro dia da CPAC no Texas, onde Bolsonaro se apresentou como candidato e pediu 'pressão diplomática' americana sobre as eleições brasileiras, outros dois agentes acumularam R$38 mil.
Bolsonaro inicialmente tentou que o Senado cobrisse a totalidade dos custos de suas viagens, mas recuou diante da repercussão. Hoje, a instituição paga as diárias e passagens dos agentes; o PL arca com o restante. Em sua defesa, o senador invocou o histórico de ameaças à família — citando o atentado a faca sofrido pelo pai em 2018 — e afirmou que não abrirá mão da proteção.
Seis senadores têm direito à escolta legislativa. Além de Bolsonaro, estão na lista Sergio Moro, candidato ao governo do Paraná com proteção justificada por ameaças documentadas do PCC, e Angelo Coronel, que busca reeleição e cujo gabinete não comentou o assunto. Os outros três são o atual presidente do Senado, Davi Alcolumbre, e os ex-presidentes Rodrigo Pacheco e Ana Paula Lobato.
O Senado, questionado sobre o aumento dos gastos, não respondeu. Em nota, a instituição alegou que informações sobre segurança parlamentar são sensíveis e podem gerar vulnerabilidades. Não divulga qual agente protege qual senador, quais viagens originaram quais despesas nem o custo individual de cada escolta. Os dados públicos revelam o padrão — mas não permitem compreendê-lo por inteiro.
The Senate's bill for protecting its senators just jumped dramatically. In the first five months of 2026, the chamber spent R$1.8 million on daily allowances for legislative police officers who escort senators on their travels—a 64 percent increase from the same period last year, when the tab was R$1.1 million. The surge has a clear driver: three senators are running for office this year, and one of them, Flávio Bolsonaro, has been crisscrossing the globe.
Bolsonaro, the PL's presidential pre-candidate and son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, has become a fixture on the international stage since his party announced his candidacy. In January and February alone, he toured the Middle East—Israel, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar—then swung through Europe with a stop in France. He has made at least three trips to the United States this year, where his brother lives, most recently this week for a meeting with President Donald Trump. Each journey came with a security detail paid for by the Senate, though Bolsonaro initially sought to have all costs covered by the institution before backing down after public backlash. Now the Senate covers the officers' daily allowances and airfare but not other expenses.
The scale of these travels shows up in the numbers. On January 16, coinciding with the start of Bolsonaro's Middle East tour, two legislative police officers received a combined R$157,000 in daily allowances for food and lodging—the single largest expense recorded so far this year. On March 25, the first day of the Conservative Political Action Conference in Texas, where Bolsonaro positioned himself as a presidential contender and called for American "diplomatic pressure" on Brazil's elections, two more officers collected R$38,000 in allowances.
Six senators have access to legislative police protection. Three of them are running for office: Bolsonaro for president, Sergio Moro for governor of Paraná, and Angelo Coronel for reelection to his Senate seat. The other three protected senators are the current Senate president, Davi Alcolumbre, and two former presidents of the chamber, Rodrigo Pacheco and Ana Paula Lobato. Moro's security detail began in 2023 after authorities identified a criminal plot against him by the PCC, a major Brazilian gang. The Senate does not disclose how much is spent protecting each individual senator.
Bolsonaro's defense of his security detail invokes family history. He said he will not surrender his protection, noting that "it is public and notorious that members of the Bolsonaro family have faced, for years, an environment of strong polarization and concrete episodes of attacks and threats." He referenced Adélio Bispo, the man who stabbed his father in 2018, as a cautionary example. The Liberal Party, he added, covers all other campaign costs in compliance with electoral law.
Moro offered a similar rationale, saying he maintains the same schedule of visits to Paraná that he committed to when elected, and that he faces documented threats from organized crime. Angelo Coronel's office declined to comment on his campaign activities or the reasons for his protection, citing security protocols.
The Senate itself has been silent. When asked why spending surged this year, the institution provided no answer. In a written statement, it said that information about parliamentary security is sensitive because it could create vulnerabilities for the officials and officers involved. The chamber refuses to name which officer works for which senator, what specific trips the expenses cover, or how much each senator's protection costs. All that is disclosed is the amount paid to each officer and the dates of payment—enough to see the pattern, not enough to fully understand it.
Citas Notables
Members of the Bolsonaro family have faced, for years, an environment of strong polarization and concrete episodes of attacks and threats.— Flávio Bolsonaro, in response to questions about his security detail
Information relative to parliamentary security is considered sensitive in that it may create vulnerability and risks to the authorities and servers involved in escort services.— Brazilian Senate, in written statement
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does a senator running for president need the Senate to pay for his security while he campaigns internationally?
The official answer is that Bolsonaro has received threats for years as a member of the Bolsonaro family. But the timing is hard to ignore—the spending spike coincides almost perfectly with his campaign travels.
So the Senate is essentially subsidizing his campaign?
Not directly. The Liberal Party pays for his campaign costs. But the Senate covers the security officers' daily allowances and flights, which are substantial. On one date alone, two officers got R$157,000 in allowances.
And the Senate won't say which senator gets which protection?
Correct. They cite security concerns—that naming the officers or breaking down the costs could create vulnerabilities. But it also means voters can't see the full picture of what this is costing.
What about the other senators running for office?
Moro is running for governor and has documented threats from organized crime, so his protection seems more clearly justified. Coronel won't even discuss it. But the scale of Bolsonaro's international travel is what's driving the overall increase.
Is there any legal problem with this?
Not necessarily. The Senate has rules for these allowances, and Bolsonaro says his party covers campaign costs separately. But the lack of transparency makes it impossible to know if the system is being abused or if it's working as intended.