Flavio Bolsonaro says he could abandon his 2026 presidential run in exchange for amnesty for his imprisoned father, former leader Jair Bolsonaro
BRASÍLIA: Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro has suggested he could abandon his presidential aspirations for a “price.”
The eldest son of imprisoned far-right former leader Jair Bolsonaro indicated that price could involve amnesty for his father.
“It is possible that I won’t go through with it until the end. I have a price for that. I’m going to negotiate,” he told reporters outside an evangelical church on Sunday.
Flavio Bolsonaro announced his father had chosen him to lead Brazil’s conservative movement just two days earlier.
That announcement immediately shook up the 2026 election race and rattled financial markets.
Jair Bolsonaro is currently serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup and is banned from public office.
His supporters in Congress are pushing a bill to grant amnesty for the former president and his allies.
They were convicted for the January 2023 assault on government buildings in Brasília.
Flavio Bolsonaro promised to provide more details during a Monday meeting with conservative leaders.
His anointment has received a cool reception from Brazil’s conservative establishment.
Many had hoped to rally behind Sao Paulo Governor Tarcisio de Freitas instead.
Sao Paulo’s major stock exchange suffered its sharpest drop in four years following Friday’s announcement.
The senator, seen as a hardliner, suggested he was prepared to adopt a more centrist approach.
“You are going to discover a different Bolsonaro, a much more centrist Bolsonaro,” he added.
Flavio Bolsonaro claimed to have secured the support of Governor de Freitas.
He denied any fragmentation within the Brazilian right-wing movement.
Other conservative figures are maintaining their own presidential aspirations for 2026.
The former president’s wife, Michelle Bolsonaro, has thrown her support behind her stepson.
Her name had also been floated as a possible conservative candidate. – AFP
