Brazil’s right nominates Flavio Bolsonaro for presidential election

São Paulo – 25.07.2026: Brazil’s Liberal Party officially selected Senator Flavio Bolsonaro as its candidate for the presidential election on Saturday at its national party convention in São Paulo. The 45-year-old son of former head of state Jair Bolsonaro is set to lead the right-wing opposition against President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the first round of voting on October 4, 2026. A possible runoff is scheduled for October 25.

With the nomination, the Bolsonaro family’s claim to political leadership passes to its eldest son. Jair Bolsonaro cannot run himself. The Supreme Court convicted the former president of several offenses related to the attempt to violently dismantle the democratic order and carry out a coup d’état. According to the court, he is under house arrest for humanitarian reasons.

Flavio Bolsonaro represents the state of Rio de Janeiro in the Senate and had already announced his candidacy at the end of 2025. The party’s internal confirmation now creates the formal basis for the campaign. The fact that the convention was held in São Paulo was politically logical: Brazil’s most populous state has the largest pool of voters and carries considerable weight in campaign financing and the formation of political alliances.

However, the event showed how narrow the candidate’s current alliance is. According to the Associated Press, around 500 supporters attended, while influential representatives of the political center stayed away. Flavio Bolsonaro has also not yet named a candidate for vice president. The Liberal Party therefore lacks, for the time being, an alliance that extends significantly beyond its own political camp.

Michelle Bolsonaro, the former president’s wife and an influential voice among evangelical voters, also did not attend in person. She addressed the party convention by video and mentioned the nominated candidate only briefly. Her absence follows publicly aired tensions with Flavio Bolsonaro and points to differing interests within the family’s political circle.

In his speech, Flavio Bolsonaro portrayed the election as a fight against the alleged political persecution of his family and attacked the Supreme Court. More recently, he also repeated doubts about the reliability of electronic voting machines. There is no evidence for these claims. Similar attacks on the electoral system had contributed to the decision to bar his father from elections. The organization and oversight of voting are handled by Brazil’s electoral courts.

According to AP, Lula also intends to formally confirm his renewed candidacy in São Paulo on August 2. This sets the stage once again for a confrontation between the left-wing Workers’ Party and the Bolsonaro camp, this time without its founder, who has been excluded because of an electoral ban.