Former Brazilian President to Back Son in 2026 Presidential Election

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has announced his support for his eldest son, Flavio Bolsonaro, in the 2026 presidential election. He confirmed the matter in a handwritten letter on Thursday (December 25).
Bolsonaro is currently in prison. After losing the 2022 election, the country’s Supreme Court found him guilty of attempted coup. That is why he will not be able to participate in the election. For this reason, he has handed over the responsibility of fighting against Brazil’s leftist (current) President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to his son and senator Flavio Bolsonaro.
“In this situation of injustice and out of a commitment not to silence the will of the people, I nominate Flavio Bolsonaro as a pre-candidate for the presidency of the Republic in 2026,” Bolsonaro wrote in the handwritten letter. “I am donating the most precious thing in a father’s life – my children – to the mission of saving Brazil.”
Earlier this month, Bolsonaro announced his decision to maintain his family-oriented leadership. But moderate political parties and investors had hoped he would change his mind and support Sao Paulo state governor Tarcisio de Freitas. In the letter, Bolsonaro said the decision was conscious, legitimate and based on a desire to protect the representation of those who trusted him.
Since last December, Flavio Bolsonaro has been in constant talks with politicians and investors. After the letter was published, he said it did not change his plans, but it would clarify the issue for those who were still skeptical.
Flavio Bolsonaro read the letter to reporters during his surgery at a Brazilian hospital on Thursday. The surgery was to repair a hernia caused by a stab wound to the abdomen during the 2018 election campaign.