Bolsonaro backs eldest son’s presidential bid for next year
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has indicated that he intends to support his eldest son, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, as a presidential candidate in the 2026 election, according to his political party on Friday, which had an impact on local financial markets.
The head of Bolsonaro's right-wing Liberal Party, Valdemar Costa Neto, told Reuters he had heard from the senator that the former president had "ratified his candidacy," News.Az reports citing Reuters.
CNN Brasil reported, citing unnamed sources, that the right-wing leader offered his support to his eldest son during a visit to the federal police offices in Brasilia where he is serving his sentence for plotting a coup.
News of Bolsonaro's plans hit Brazilian markets on Friday, with the country's currency weakening around 2% against the U.S. dollar and the benchmark stock index Bovespa down 3%.
Some investors had been betting on Bolsonaro backing a market-friendly name with executive experience, such as Sao Paulo Governor Tarcisio de Freitas, his former minister, to challenge leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva next year.
"The market sees Flavio as a weaker candidate than Tarcisio in a race against Lula," said Laís Costa, an analyst at Empiricus Research.
Bolsonaro has been barred from runnin, for office since June 2023, when Brazil's federal electoral court (TSE) condemned the right-wing leader for his conduct during the 2022 election.
In September, the former president was sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison for plotting a coup after losing the 2022 presidential election to Lula.
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