Flavio Bolsonaro enters Brazil’s 2026 presidential race with father’s nod

Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the eldest lad of imprisoned erstwhile President Jair Bolsonaro, has announced helium has received his father’s endorsement to tally for the presidency successful 2026.

In a societal media station connected Friday, Flavio shared a representation of himself kissing the apical of his father’s head, on with a statement.

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It explained that his begetter — whom helium called the “greatest governmental and motivation leader” successful Brazil — had fixed him the “mission of carrying connected our nationalist project”.

“I cannot and I volition not judge seeing our state spell done a clip of instability, insecurity and discouragement,” Flavio wrote.

“I volition not basal idly by portion I spot the hopes of families fading and our ideology dying.”

Brazil is scheduled to clasp elections connected October 4, 2026, and with his father’s nod, Flavio is present the heir evident to correspond the far-right Liberal Party (PL) astatine the ballot box.

Jair Bolsonaro is considered the honourary person of the PL, though helium is barred from holding bureau done 2030.

The party’s authoritative president, Valdemar Costa Neto, confirmed that Jair’s endorsement of his lad conferred upon Flavio the party’s nomination.

“As president of the PL, I pass you that Senator Flavio Bolsonaro is the sanction selected by Jair Bolsonaro to correspond the enactment successful the statesmanlike race,” Costa Neta wrote successful an authoritative statement.

“Flavio told maine that our skipper confirmed his pre-candidacy. So if Bolsonaro spoke, it’s settled!”

The announcement sets up a rematch of sorts betwixt the Bolsonaro household and Brazil’s existent left-wing president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Imprisoned implicit a coup attempt

The elder Bolsonaro and Lula antecedently faced each different successful the 2022 statesmanlike race. It was a intimately fought match: Neither campaigner won a bulk of the ballot successful the archetypal round, which forced the contention into a runoff.

But connected October 30, Lula emerged victorious successful the 2nd round, squeaking retired a slim triumph with 50.9 percent of the vote. It was the closest result to a statesmanlike contention since Brazil’s instrumentality to ideology successful the 1980s.

Nevertheless, Jair Bolsonaro, the incumbent, refused to publically admit his defeat. Instead, helium and his allies filed a legal challenge against the vote, arguing determination was grounds of “serious failures” and “malfunctions” successful the voting machines.

It was a mentation Jair Bolsonaro had publically precocious adjacent earlier the archetypal ballot was cast, erstwhile helium was connected the run trail. Critics person pointed retired that determination is nary grounds to enactment the claims.

The ineligible situation was yet tossed for being “in full atrocious faith”.

But Jair Bolsonaro’s supporters continued to rally against his defeat. In the months that followed, they attacked federal constabulary headquarters successful the superior Brasilia, and aft Lula’s inauguration, connected January 8, 2023, they stormed authorities buildings successful the city’s Three Powers Plaza.

Some of the protesters sought to provoke a subject effect that would overthrow Lula’s nascent government.

The riot astatine the Three Powers Plaza yet spurred national investigations, raids and arrests.

Following his electoral defeat, Jair Bolsonaro besides recovered himself mired successful probes and ineligible complaints, which ranged from fraud allegations related to his COVID-19 records to accusations of embezzlement.

In June 2023, Brazil’s Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE) voted to bar Jair Bolsonaro from nationalist bureau until 2030, calling his usage of nationalist resources to dispersed predetermination falsehoods an “abuse of power”.

And conscionable past month, Jair Bolsonaro was taken into custody to service a 27-year situation sentence, aft helium was convicted successful September of plotting to signifier a coup.

Jair Bolsonaro has denied immoderate wrongdoing and described his prosecution arsenic a politically motivated deed job, designed to dent his continued popularity.

Politics, a household affair

His sons, meanwhile, person transformed into nationalist advocates for their father, petitioning for his release.

Earlier this year, Eduardo Bolsonaro, a subordinate of Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies, travelled to the US to lobby President Donald Trump for assistance with his father’s case.

In mid-November, a sheet connected Brazil’s Supreme Court voted to enactment Eduardo connected proceedings to measurement whether his actions amounted to obstruction of justice.

Jair Bolsonaro’s household and allies person besides pushed Congress to walk an amnesty bill that would let the ex-president to locomotion free.

In the lead-up to Friday’s endorsement, determination was speculation that erstwhile First Lady Michelle Bolsonaro mightiness beryllium an enactment to correspond the PL successful adjacent year’s election. Sao Paolo’s governor, Tarcisio Gomes de Freitas, was besides floated arsenic a possibility.

But the enactment of Flavio Bolsonaro, 44, is seen arsenic an entreaty to the ex-president’s far-right base.

That prime could extremity up alienating centrists successful Brazil’s blimpish arenas. Flavio has served successful the Senate since 2019 and antecedently was authorities lawman for Rio de Janeiro.

Currently, the biggest contender successful the upcoming contention is Lula himself.

In precocious October, the left-wing president announced helium would question a 4th term. Now 80 years old, helium has reassured his supporters that helium felt arsenic energetic arsenic ever.

Brazilian instrumentality allows for lone 2 consecutive presumption astatine a time, but much are imaginable if they are not backmost to back. Lula archetypal served arsenic president from 2003 to 2011, earlier mounting his latest palmy bid successful 2022.

Polls presently amusement Lula successful the pb for adjacent year’s race, though the ballot is much than 9 months away.

A survey conducted successful precocious November by the National Confederation of Transport and the probe steadfast MDA Institute attempted to measurement the likelihood of assorted match-ups Lula could face.

Lula came retired connected apical each time. When pitted against the imprisoned Jair Bolsonaro, helium earned astir 39 percent enactment to the right-wing leader’s 27 percent. When compared to Michelle Bolsonaro, Lula had adjacent higher support: 42 percent to her 23 percent. Flavio Bolsonaro was not among the options surveyed.

Lula would beryllium 85 years aged if helium were to triumph and implicit a 4th term.