Flavio Bolsonaro launches presidential bid in Brazil amid scandals
Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, officially launched his campaign on Saturday for the October election, facing multiple scandals that have dented his poll numbers.
Candidacy announcement
The Liberal Party (PL) on Saturday formally nominated Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, 45, as its candidate for Brazil's upcoming presidential election in October. He aims to succeed his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, who was sentenced to 27 years in prison for plotting a coup after losing the 2022 election to incumbent leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supporters wearing Brazil national team jerseys — a symbol of the Bolsonaro movement — gathered at a warehouse next to São Paulo's Pacaembu Stadium, beating drums and waving flags.
Wave of scandals
Flavio Bolsonaro's poll numbers, once neck-and-neck with Lula's, have dropped due to a series of crises. In May, a leaked audio recording captured him asking banker Daniel Vorcaro, accused in a multi-million dollar fraud case, to finance a film about his father. Flavio initially denied any contact but later admitted their relationship was limited to the film. A Supreme Court justice has ordered an investigation into the film's financing.
A second crisis erupted when Flavio's stepmother, former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro, posted an Instagram video accusing him of disrespect and mistreatment. Michelle is a key figure for the right-wing movement's appeal among women and evangelical voters. Flavio later issued a public apology, which Michelle accepted.
The Supreme Court also barred Flavio from visiting his father until after the first round of voting, after he read out a letter from Jair Bolsonaro calling for unity, violating the terms of house arrest.
Election outlook
According to a Datafolha poll, Lula would win 48% of the vote in a runoff against Flavio's 43%. The senator also faces backlash from new U.S. tariffs on Brazil imposed by President Trump. Flavio casts himself as a more moderate version of his father but maintains hardline stances on crime and has echoed his father's baseless concerns about Brazil's electronic voting system. Centrist parties have announced neutrality in the October 4 election, complicating his efforts to build alliances.
