Brazil ex-first lady launches Senate bid, stepson goes for presidency

The right-wing Liberal Party in Brazil nominated former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro as a Senate candidate on Sunday, despite her recent feud with her stepson Flavio Bolsonaro, the party’s presidential nominee.

With ex-president Jair Bolsonaro under house arrest for plotting a coup at the end of his 2019-2022 term, Michelle and Flavio Bolsonaro have been locked in a struggle over influence in Brazil’s large conservative movement.

The feud became public in late June when the former first lady, 44, accused her 45-year-old stepson of disrespecting her, claiming he had said she “didn’t understand anything about politics.”

The spat was viewed as a major impediment to her stepson’s attempts at broadening support ahead of the presidential election, given Michelle Bolsonaro has proven popular among female and evangelical voters.

Flavio Bolsonaro, currently a senator, issued a public apology before his formal nomination last weekend as the Liberal Party’s presidential candidate — with his stepmother quickly accepting the olive branch.

He will face off in October against leftist incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, 80, who is seeking a fourth nonconsecutive term and has gained momentum in recent weeks.

A Liberal Party event on Sunday in the capital Brasilia was expected to be a symbolic reunion of the two conservative heavyweights, but Michelle Bolsonaro was a no-show.

She was hospitalized the day before with a severe headache and only discharged as the event got underway, according to the medical center where she was treated.

Her brother Diego Torres delivered a speech she had planned on giving in her place.

“I accept this challenge,” he said on her behalf.

Flavio Bolsonaro, for his part, said in a speech that “we are going to rescue democracy, together with Michelle Bolsonaro.”

AFP

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