Flávio informs Tarcísio he has been chosen by Bolsonaro as presidential candidate in 2026

BRASÍLIA — Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ) informed the Liberal Party and Governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans), that his pre-candidacy for the Presidency of the Republic was accepted by his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL).
Bolsonaro has been imprisoned at the Regional Superintendent of the Federal Police in Brasília since November 25, serving a sentence of 27 years and three months for an attempted coup d’état.
Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the Supreme Federal Court (STF), has been allowing periodic visits to the former president, especially from his family. On Tuesday, Flávio met with his father, but did not mention any conversation about running for the Presidency.
Members of the PL leadership say they view the information with reservations and believe it to be a trial balloon to both inflate and test Flávio’s name nationally. The final choice, for some, will be made later on.
A person close to former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro (PL) rejects Flávio’s selection and claims that Bolsonaro would not have made such a decision without consulting his wife. They question why the former president ‘did not confide in Michelle, but in someone else, without telling his wife, especially after what happened last week.’
The information comes days after a rift between Michelle and her children Flávio, federal deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL-SP), and councilman Carlos Bolsonaro (PL-RJ). The trigger for the public feud was a criticism by the former first lady of the alliance made by the PL of Ceará, led by federal deputy André Fernandes, to support former presidential candidate Ciro Gomes in the state’s gubernatorial race.
The three children defended Fernandes, claiming that the alliance had Bolsonaro’s approval, and Flávio called his stepmother’s stance ‘arrogant and authoritarian.’ After visiting his father on Monday, the senator apologized to Michelle.
The next day, the PL held an emergency meeting to ease the crisis, and the agreement with Ciro was suspended indefinitely — which some interpreted as a partial victory for Michelle over her stepchildren.
The public crisis, which centered around electoral alliances, occurred a week after the Bolsonaro loyalists closed ranks in a closed-door meeting on November 24 to defend a unified discourse in support of Bolsonaro, who had just been taken into custody.
During her speech at the event, Michelle criticized party members who attack colleagues on social media, stated that ‘dirty laundry’ should be dealt with at home, and called for greater unity around Bolsonaro. However, what was discussed at that meeting eventually fell apart with the exposure of disagreements in Fortaleza.
(To be continued)