Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the eldest son of imprisoned former President Jair Bolsonaro, has announced he received his father\u2019s endorsement to run for the presidency in 2026.<\/p>\n
In a social media post on Friday, Flavio shared a picture of himself kissing the top of his father\u2019s head, along with a statement.<\/p>\n
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It explained that his father \u2014 whom he called the \u201cgreatest political and moral leader\u201d in Brazil \u2014 had passed along to him the \u201cmission of carrying on our national project\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI cannot and I will not accept seeing our country go through a time of instability, insecurity and discouragement,\u201d Flavio wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will not stand idly by while I see the hopes of families fading and our democracy dying.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brazil is scheduled to hold elections on October 4, 2026, and with his father\u2019s nod, Flavio is now the heir apparent to represent the far-right Liberal Party (PL) at the ballot box.<\/p>\n
Jair Bolsonaro is considered the honorary leader of the PL, though he is barred from holding office through 2030.<\/p>\n
The party\u2019s official president, Valdemar Costa Neto, confirmed that Jair\u2019s endorsement of his son conferred upon Flavio the party\u2019s nomination.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs president of the PL, I inform you that Senator Flavio Bolsonaro is the name selected by Jair Bolsonaro to represent the party in the presidential race,\u201d Costa Neta wrote in an official statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cFlavio told me that our captain confirmed his pre-candidacy. So if Bolsonaro spoke, it\u2019s settled!\u201d<\/p>\n
The announcement sets up a rematch of sorts between the Bolsonaro family and Brazil\u2019s current left-wing president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.<\/p>\n
Imprisoned over a coup attempt<\/p>\n
The elder Bolsonaro and Lula previously faced each other in the 2022 presidential race. It was a closely fought match: Neither candidate won a majority of the vote in the first round, which forced the contest into a run-off.<\/p>\n
But on October 30, Lula emerged victorious in the second round, squeaking out a slim victory with 50.9 percent of the vote. It was the closest outcome to a presidential race since Brazil\u2019s return to democracy in the 1980s.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, Jair Bolsonaro, the incumbent, refused to publicly acknowledge his defeat. Instead, he and his allies filed a legal challenge<\/a> against the vote, arguing there was evidence of \u201cserious failures\u201d and \u201cmalfunctions\u201d in the voting machines.<\/p>\n It was a theory Jair Bolsonaro had publicly advanced even before the first vote was cast, while he was on the campaign trail. Critics have pointed out that there is no evidence to support his claims.<\/p>\n The legal challenge was ultimately tossed<\/a> for being \u201cin total bad faith\u201d.<\/p>\n But Jair Bolsonaro\u2019s supporters continued to rally against his defeat. In the months that followed, they attacked federal police headquarters<\/a> in the capital, Brasilia, and after Lula\u2019s inauguration on January 8, 2023, they stormed government buildings in the city\u2019s Three Powers Plaza.<\/p>\n Some of the protesters sought to provoke a military response that would overthrow Lula\u2019s nascent government.<\/p>\n The riot at the Three Powers Plaza ultimately spurred federal investigations, raids and arrests.<\/p>\n Following his electoral defeat, Jair Bolsonaro also found himself mired in probes and legal complaints, which ranged from fraud allegations related to his COVID-19 records to accusations of embezzlement.<\/p>\n In June 2023, Brazil\u2019s Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE) voted to bar<\/a> Jair Bolsonaro from public office for eight years, calling his use of public resources to spread election falsehoods an \u201cabuse of power\u201d.<\/p>\n And just last month, Jair Bolsonaro was taken into custody<\/a> to serve a 27-year prison sentence, after he was convicted in September of plotting to stage a coup.<\/p>\n Jair Bolsonaro has denied any wrongdoing and described his prosecution as a politically motivated hit job, designed to dent his popularity.<\/p>\n Politics, a family affair<\/p>\n His sons, meanwhile, have transformed into public advocates for their father, petitioning for his release.<\/p>\n Earlier this year, Eduardo Bolsonaro, a member of Brazil\u2019s Chamber of Deputies, travelled to the United States to lobby President Donald Trump for help with his father\u2019s case. Trump has since spoken out against Jair Bolsonaro\u2019s prosecution and imposed tariffs on Brazil\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n In mid-November, a panel on Brazil\u2019s Supreme Court voted to put Eduardo Bolsonaro on trial to weigh whether his actions amounted to obstruction of justice, as an attempt to sway the outcome of his father\u2019s trial.<\/p>\n