Flávio Bolsonaro Launches Brazil Presidential Bid in São Paulo

Flávio Bolsonaro Inaugurates Presidential Bid in São Paulo

Flávio Bolsonaro officially inaugurated his presidential campaign on Saturday at a convention in São Paulo, accepting the nomination of his father’s Liberal Party to challenge left-wing incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the upcoming October election. Wearing national team jerseys that have become a symbol of the Bolsonaro movement, supporters gathered inside a warehouse next to Pacaembu Stadium to watch the 45-year-old senator accept the candidacy.

Fernando Moeno, a 50-year-old retired military police officer attending the convention, told reporters, We would have liked our candidate to be Jair Bolsonaro, but today Flavio is the best choice. Former President Jair Bolsonaro is currently serving a 27-year prison sentence for a coup attempt following his 2022 election defeat. Because he cannot make public addresses from house arrest, the convention featured an artificial intelligence-created video of the elder Bolsonaro.

During the event, the younger Bolsonaro tearfully paid tribute to his father and accused Brazil’s Supreme Court of persecuting his family. Bolsonaro told the roughly 500 attendees in his speech, This is more than a party convention. This is the beginning of the toughest battles of our life. A fight between good and evil.

Polling Deficits and Political Absences at the Liberal Party Convention

The campaign launch comes as a Datafolha poll released on Friday shows Lula leading the senator in a potential runoff election by 48% to 43%, a slight shift from a June survey that put Lula ahead 47% to 43%. In a first-round scenario, Lula leads with 40% of the vote, followed by Bolsonaro at 32%, Ronaldo Caiado at 4%, and Romeu Zema and Renan Santos each at 3%.

Political analysts note that the senator faces an uphill battle to build broader coalitions. Prominent centrist parties have kept their distance, and the senator has not yet secured a high-profile running mate after attempts to recruit former Agriculture Minister Tereza Cristina fell short.

However, lawmaker Zé Trovão downplayed the lack of immediate centrist backing, telling journalists before the convention, That’s not necessarily bad for us. 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. Lula’s Workers Party is scheduled to confirm the 80-year-old incumbent’s reelection bid during its own convention on August 2 in São Paulo.

International Endorsements from Javier Milei and Benjamin Netanyahu

While domestic political heavyweights largely stayed away from the event, the campaign secured prominent international backing. Argentinian President Javier Milei traveled to Brazil the night before the convention, meeting with São Paulo Governor Tarcísio de Freitas before delivering a fiery speech at the gathering.

The international outreach extends to the United States. The senator now eyes additional endorsements from members of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.