Dark Horse becomes a “comedy of errors” for Flávio Bolsonaro, says Financial Times

The British newspaper Financial Timesone of the main spokespeople for the international financial market, stated this Monday (25) that Dark Horsea pseudo-biopic produced to transform Jair Bolsonaro into a global myth of the far right, became a “comedy of errors” and began to threaten the presidential candidacy of Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ).

The newspaper’s assessment reveals the extent of the damage caused by the scandal involving the million-dollar financing of the film with resources negotiated with banker Daniel Vorcaro, owner of Banco Master.

The case hit the former president’s son hard, who had been groomed by Bolsonarism as the political heir of Jair Bolsonaro after the former president was sentenced to 27 years in prison for an attempted coup d’état.

“Even before its release, the English-language biopic is turning into a comedy of errors,” wrote the Financial Timeswhen describing the succession of revelations involving the behind-the-scenes of the film.

The British publication highlights that Flávio Bolsonaro negotiated US$24 million to finance the project — around R$134 million at the exchange rate at the time — with Vorcaro, a central character in the collapse of Banco Master.

Of the total, R$61 million had already been released between February and May 2025.

The audios released by The Intercept Brazil they show Flávio directly demanding continued payments and treating Vorcaro as a “brother”. In one of the messages sent to the banker, the day before his first arrest, the senator states: “I am and will always be with you.”

O Financial Times states that Vorcaro cultivated “high-level contacts in important institutions while boasting a luxurious lifestyle”, in an environment of influence peddling to favor financial and political interests.

The international repercussion of the case began to directly affect Flávio Bolsonaro’s electoral viability.

According to the British newspaper, the scandal raised concrete doubts within the right-wing itself about the senator’s ability to sustain a competitive candidacy against President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Until then, allies of Bolsonarism tried to sell Flávio as the natural successor of his father, arrested for leading the coup movement after the defeat in the 2022 elections.

Now, Bolsonaro’s political heir appears associated with a financial scandal that mixes millionaires, suspicious funds, international film production and global far-right operators.

Not even figures from the Bolsonarist propaganda machine hid their discomfort with the scandal. Rodrigo Constantino, one of the main ideologues of the Brazilian extreme right and a historical ally of Bolsonaroism, publicly criticized Flávio and those around the Bolsonaro family. “It’s unacceptable, it’s treating the public like idiots,” he said.

The very Financial Times highlights that Jair Bolsonaro continues to be the true command center of the Brazilian right and that any definition of the future of his son’s candidacy depends directly on him.

Despite the wear and tear, international allies of Bolsonarism continue to bet on the propaganda potential of Dark Horse. The film stars Jim Caviezel, actor of The Passion of Christ and a figure worshiped by sectors of the Trumpist extreme right in the United States.

Former White House strategist Steve Bannon told Financial Times who intends to promote the film among supporters of the MAGA movement, linked to Donald Trump.

“If you’re in Brazil and you hear that they’re making a film about your former president, with a big Hollywood star in the cast, that kind of thing multiplies the investment in terms of reach. It’s much better than making 30-second commercials on TV,” declared Bannon.

The film’s leaked script, according to the British newspaper, mixes religious messages aimed at the conservative Bolsonaro base, anti-system speech and a heroic representation of the stab wound suffered by Jair Bolsonaro in 2018.

The project, designed to function as an international piece of propaganda for the Brazilian extreme right, ended up becoming yet another element of political erosion of Bolsonarism.