Brazil’s Flávio Bolsonaro secures presidential bid despite headwinds

SÃO PAULO — Brazilian Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, a son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, was confirmed as the presidential candidate of his father’s Liberal Party over the weekend in a bid against incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, even as his campaign faces many challenges.

The younger Bolsonaro still seeks a running mate and does not enjoy the support of centrist parties as his father did. Few Brazilian political heavyweights were in attendance, in another sign of his troubles forming an alliance against Lula ahead of the October election.

The 45-year-old senator’s popular stepmother, Michelle Bolsonaro, a leader for many evangelical voters, was one of the notable absences among about 500 people cheering him on in São Paulo. Recently, the two exchanged criticism in public. She spoke Saturday in a recorded video in which she mentioned the anointed candidate just once.

Milei and Netanyahu express support

Still, Flávio Bolsonaro managed to bring in Argentina’s President Javier Milei for Saturday’s convention, displayed a short video of support from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and now eyes more international endorsements, including from members of the Trump administration.

Milei said Brazil needs to get rid of what he called “the Lula risk” of keeping progressive politics for another four years in Latin America’s most powerful economy.

But absences were notable. Jair Bolsonaro cannot make public addresses as he serves his 27-year sentence — over a coup attempt as he tried to remain in power after losing to Lula in the last election — so a video featured an artificial-intelligence-created version of the former president.

Flávio Bolsonaro did not disclose much about his plans for the presidency if he wins. He tearfully paid tribute to his father, now under house arrest, and raised his voice against Lula.

“You are going to put this presidential sash on me next year,” said Bolsonaro, who also accused Brazil’s Supreme Court of persecuting his family. “This is more than a party convention. This is the beginning of the toughest battles of our life. A fight between good and evil.”

Search for a running mate

Bolsonaro has failed to recruit a high-profile female running mate after attempts to lure former Agriculture Minister Tereza Cristina.

Her Popular Party, which has a stronghold in Congress and was key for Jair Bolsonaro’s presidency, was not expected to field a presidential candidate. Its distancing from the younger Bolsonaro has been surprising.

“That’s not necessarily bad for us,” lawmaker Zé Trovao told journalists before the convention began. “We can have a more ideological campaign and when time comes it will be them coming to us, having to agree to our agenda if they want to get rid of Lula and the Workers’ Party.”

Flávio Bolsonaro “has faced a problem each week, sometimes two problems,” said political consultant Thomas Traumann, based in Rio de Janeiro. “So far he has been on the defensive, saying the campaign only starts in August.”

Lula’s Workers’ Party will confirm the 80-year-old’s reelection bid in a convention on Aug. 2, also in São Paulo, a key battleground in the election.

Lula will be seeking his fourth four-year term in office. Brazilian law limits presidents to two consecutive terms, but a former president may serve again after sitting out at least one full term. Lula served his first two terms in 2003-11, returning to office in 2023.

Bolsonaro’s uphill battle

Many of the troubles Bolsonaro has faced are self-inflicted. Support for his bid started to wane in May after he admitted he had requested millions of dollars from jailed banker Daniel Vorcaro to pay for a film about his father’s life. The revelation shocked many allies.

Bolsonaro then visited the White House and the U.S. State Department days later, expecting to get a boost from Trump. But many voters, business leaders and politicians blame him for the U.S. government imposing new tariffs on Brazilian exports of up to 37.5% as of Friday.

Even as most of Brazil was watching the World Cup on TV, Bolsonaro faced another blow: His stepmother recorded a video to say he was being disrespectful to her in a phone conversation.

Then, Bolsonaro drew criticism after repeating debunked claims on the reliability of Brazil’s electronic voting system, echoing those that the country’s top court cited in ruling his father ineligible.

As the convention was being prepared, the senator and his stepmother made amends. Bolsonaro made the first move in a live broadcast in which he apologized, adding that he was being “disproportionally persecuted” by others, as his father was.

Michelle Bolsonaro accepted Sen. Bolsonaro’s apology on Friday, in what could be a first move of reconciliation within the family as the campaign begins.

“Let’s sit down, let’s talk, let’s adjust details, and together we will get a big army of people who do good to rescue our Brazil,” she said in a video published Friday.

Traumann, the political analyst, said Bolsonaro will have a much tougher time appealing to moderates than he did when he started his bid in December.

“He was showing himself as the moderate Bolsonaro, the one who took COVID vaccines, who is kind to his two daughters,” Traumann said. “He has lost voters who are against the Workers’ Party, but are also more moderate. Now he has the radical core of his campaign, and his attempt now is to stop that group from leaving him too.”

Savarese writes for the Associated Press. AP journalist Lucas Dumphreys in Rio de Janeiro contributed to this report.