Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who is barred from public office and serving a 27-year sentence under house arrest over a coup plot, followed Sunday’s election results from confinement.
His eldest son, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, secured a surprise first-round lead over President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, winning 47% of the vote against Lula’s 45%. The pair will face each other in an October 25 runoff.
Flavio’s performance was attributed by political observers to a broader conservative shift across the region and weaknesses in Lula’s campaign. The result also highlighted a resurgence in the Bolsonaro family’s political influence despite the former president’s legal troubles.
The family’s gains extended beyond the presidential race, with candidates from Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party winning several contests. The party nearly doubled its Senate representation to 28 of 81 seats, its strongest showing since Brazil’s return to democracy in the 1980s.
Four other Bolsonaro relatives also won office, including his wife, Michelle Bolsonaro, and second son, Carlos, who secured Senate seats. His brother, Renato, and youngest son, Jair Renan, were elected to the lower house.
Political analyst Antonio Flavio Testa, a former member of Bolsonaro’s 2018 transition team, described the outcome as unprecedented, saying he could not recall another Brazilian political family electing so many members at once.
Flavio’s candidacy initially faced resistance after his father selected him in December, with financial markets reacting negatively and some center-right allies distancing themselves from the campaign. He later chose Liberal Party lawmaker Alfredo Gaspar as his running mate.
Although Bolsonaro could not campaign publicly, he remained central to his son’s campaign. An AI-generated version of the former president endorsed Flavio at his campaign launch, drawing controversy.
Bolsonaro was transferred from prison to house arrest in March because of health problems, including complications from a 2018 stabbing. The Supreme Court has also barred Flavio from visiting him for the past three months.
The growing strength of Bolsonaro’s allies in Congress could put an amnesty for the former president on the legislative agenda next year, according to a senior aide to Flavio who requested anonymity.
Flavio said in September that he wanted his father beside him when he takes office if he wins the presidency.
“I pray to God for the chance to walk up the ramp of Planalto Palace next year alongside President Jair Messias Bolsonaro,” he said.
Flavio and Lula will now contest the October 25 runoff after receiving 47% and 45% of the vote respectively in the first round.
Think Policy said Lula faces a difficult challenge, estimating he would need to secure about 62% of voters who backed other conservative candidates to defeat Flavio.
Liberal Party President Valdemar da Costa Neto told Reuters that Bolsonaro could potentially return to government in some capacity under his son’s administration.
Goodness Anunobi
Follow us on:
