{"id":101125,"date":"2026-07-25T12:31:54","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T16:31:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/brazils-flavio-bolsonaro-officially-nominated-for-president-despite-campaign-struggles\/"},"modified":"2026-07-25T12:31:54","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T16:31:54","slug":"brazils-flavio-bolsonaro-officially-nominated-for-president-despite-campaign-struggles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/brazils-flavio-bolsonaro-officially-nominated-for-president-despite-campaign-struggles\/","title":{"rendered":"Brazil’s Fl\u00e1vio Bolsonaro Officially Nominated for President Despite Campaign Struggles"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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SAO PAULO \u2014 Brazilian senator Fl\u00e1vio Bolsonaro, a son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, was officially named Saturday as the presidential nominee of his father’s Liberal Party, launching a bid to unseat incumbent President Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva \u2014 though his campaign is already battling a series of serious setbacks.<\/p>

The senator still has no running mate locked in and has failed to attract the backing of centrist political parties that were critical to his father’s success. The nomination event at the Arena Mercado Livre Pacaembu in Sao Paulo drew roughly 500 supporters, but the absence of major Brazilian political figures spoke louder than those who showed up.<\/p>

Among the most notable no-shows was the senator’s stepmother, Michelle Bolsonaro, a popular figure among evangelical voters who make up a crucial part of the Bolsonaro political base. The two had recently traded public insults, adding to the sense of dysfunction surrounding the campaign.<\/p>

On the positive side, Argentina’s President Javier Milei attended the convention, and the senator’s team is anticipating endorsements from members of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration. Even so, political observers say the absences told a more revealing story than the endorsements.<\/p>

Fl\u00e1vio Bolsonaro’s efforts to recruit a high-profile female running mate have also come up short. Attempts to bring former Agriculture Minister Tereza Cristina on board fell flat. Her Popular Party, which holds significant influence in Congress and was a cornerstone of Jair Bolsonaro’s presidency, has kept its distance \u2014 a development that has caught many by surprise.<\/p>

“That’s not necessarily bad for us,” lawmaker Z\u00e9 Trovao told reporters ahead of the convention. “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.”<\/p>

Political consultant Thomas Traumann, based in Rio de Janeiro, offered a blunt assessment of the senator’s situation. “Fl\u00e1vio Bolsonaro has faced a problem each week, sometimes two problems,” Traumann said. “This convention might be the moment in which he says what he thinks, what he intends to do as president. So far, he has been on the defensive, saying the campaign only starts in August.”<\/p>

Meanwhile, President Lula’s Workers’ Party is set to formally launch his reelection campaign at a convention on August 2, also in Sao Paulo \u2014 one of the most contested areas heading into October’s election. Lula is 80 years old.<\/p>

Several of the obstacles now facing the senator are of his own making. His campaign began losing momentum in May after he admitted he had asked jailed banker Daniel Vorcaro for millions of dollars to fund a documentary about his father. The disclosure rattled many of his closest allies.<\/p>

Shortly after, the senator traveled to the White House and the U.S. State Department, hoping to generate a boost from the Trump administration. Instead, many Brazilian voters, business leaders, and politicians are now blaming him for the U.S. government’s decision to impose new tariffs on Brazilian exports \u2014 reaching as high as 37.5% as of Friday.<\/p>

Even as much of Brazil tuned into World Cup coverage, the senator’s campaign absorbed another blow. His stepmother recorded a video claiming the senator had been disrespectful to her during a phone call \u2014 a damaging moment given her strong influence with evangelical voters, a key segment of the Bolsonaro coalition.<\/p>

Then, just last week, the senator drew further criticism for repeating already-debunked claims about the reliability of Brazil’s electronic voting system. Similar claims had previously led Brazil’s highest court to bar his father from holding office.<\/p>

Jair Bolsonaro is currently serving a 27-year prison sentence related to a coup attempt and is now under house arrest.<\/p>

In the days leading up to the convention, the senator and his stepmother appeared to take steps toward reconciliation. The senator went first, issuing a public apology in a live broadcast while also claiming he is being “disproportionally persecuted” by others \u2014 much as he said his father was. Michelle Bolsonaro accepted the apology on Friday.<\/p>

“Let’s sit down, let’s talk, let’s adjust details and together we will get a big army of people who do good to rescue our Brazil,” she said in a video posted Friday.<\/p>

Traumann, the political analyst, warned that the senator now faces a much steeper climb with moderate voters compared to when he first announced his candidacy in December. “He was showing himself as the moderate Bolsonaro, the one who took COVID vaccines, who is kind to his two daughters,” Traumann said. “He has lost voters who are against the Workers’ Party, but are also more moderate. Now he has the radical core of his campaign, and his attempt now is to stop that group from leaving him too.”<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brazilian senator Fl\u00e1vio Bolsonaro was officially confirmed as his father’s Liberal Party presidential candidate on Saturday, setting up a race against incumbent President Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva. The campaign launch was marked more by notable absences than enthusiastic support, signaling significant challenges ahead. From family feuds to financial controversies and new U.S. tariffs, the 45-year-old faces a rocky road to October’s vote.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":101124,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[832],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/news-1784997114368.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbtNqq-qj3","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":45606,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/brazilian-senator-flavio-bolsonaro-delays-economic-team-announcement-amid-poll-surge\/","url_meta":{"origin":101125,"position":0},"title":"Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro Delays Economic Team Announcement Amid Poll Surge","author":"Admin","date":"April 1, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Rising poll numbers for Brazilian opposition Senator Flavio Bolsonaro's presidential campaign have given him more time to select his economic advisers before the October election. 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