Brazil’s Liberal Party formally nominated Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro, the eldest son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, as its presidential candidate Saturday.
Addressing the party convention in Sao Paulo, the 45-year-old senator pledged to carry on his father’s political legacy as he prepares to challenge President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in October’s election.
“I may be calmer and more moderate, but Bolsonaro blood runs through my veins,” he said. “No prison will silence the sense of hope we have awakened.”
The younger Bolsonaro accused Lula’s government of encouraging corruption, increasing the tax burden, suppressing political opponents and restricting freedoms.
He claimed his father was being held “hostage,” isolated and silenced through his confinement, while railing against the Federal Supreme Court (STF) and Justice Alexandre de Moraes for alleged political persecution.
Flavio Bolsonaro presented his campaign proposals, advocating for tax cuts, strengthening a center-right majority in Congress, harsher penalties for criminals, holding adolescents accountable for serious crimes, increased penalties for perpetrators of violence against women, and chemical castration for those convicted of child rape.
He closed a 15-point gap in early spring to briefly tie Lula, a recent Datafolha poll showed the president pulling ahead with 48% support to Flavio’s 43% in a potential runoff.
It is the first presidential campaign for Bolsonaro’s eldest son. He was elected to the Senate in 2018. He served four terms as a state representative in Rio de Janeiro and ran for mayor of Rio in 2016, when he finished in fourth place.
The elder Bolsonaro, who is under house arrest for his role in an attempt to overturn the results of the 2022 presidential election, was unable to attend the convention.
Organizers instead showed an artificial intelligence-generated video recreating the former president’s image and voice. A recorded message of support from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was also played at the event.
