The Bolsonaro brand has become more popular than ever. In addition to the victory of Flavio Bolsonaro who came first in the first round of the Brazilian presidential election, other members of his family were elected during the legislative elections on Sunday October 4, riding the tidal wave of the right during these general elections.
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Despite the absence of the head of the family, ineligible and under house arrest after his conviction for attempted coup d’état, former President Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022) can rub his hands.
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However, he had been criticized in his own camp for having dubbed, from prison, his eldest son Flavio for the presidential race.
This 45-year-old senator can now enter the second round as a favorite against outgoing left-wing president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. If he is elected, he will have free rein to govern, with a Parliament leaning strongly to the right.
Amnesty
Jair Bolsonaro could directly benefit from this: his camp now benefits from a more robust majority to have an amnesty law approved in his favor.
He will be able to count in particular on his wife, Michelle Bolsonaro, elected to the Senate, as well as his second son, Carlos Bolsonaro.
His party, the Liberal Party (PL), alone won 19 seats in the Senate out of the 54 available, and has 28 out of 81 in total.
The PL is also the leading party in the Chamber of Deputies, with in its ranks the youngest of Bolsonaro’s sons, Jair Renan, 28 years old.
Flavio Bolsonaro’s mother, Rogeria, on the other hand, narrowly failed to be elected to the lower house.
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Governors
The Bolsonaro camp has also made an impressive harvest at the level of governors.
In the state of Sao Paulo, Tarcisio de Freitas was re-elected in the first round with more than 60% of the votes. He inflicted a crushing defeat on Fernando Haddad, Lula’s former finance minister and considered his potential successor.
Another emblematic victory: Sergio Moro, the judge who sentenced Lula to prison for corruption in the first instance, was also elected governor of Parana (south).
The conviction of the champion of the left was finally annulled in 2021, the magistrate having been considered biased.
In Rio de Janeiro, Bolsonarist Douglas Ruas created a surprise by well ahead of Eduardo Paes, Lula’s ally, in the first round, who was nevertheless leading the polls.
With AFP
