Overview
- The 44-year-old senator announced on X that Jair Bolsonaro designated him to carry forward their political project and that he will contend in the October 2026 presidential race.
- PL chairman Valdemar Costa Neto publicly affirmed the designation, while the party’s official candidate will still be chosen by delegates in a vote next year.
- Brazil’s markets fell after the news, with the real weakening about two percent against the dollar and the Bovespa index dropping roughly three percent.
- Jair Bolsonaro remains imprisoned after a Supreme Court conviction in September 2025 that found he instigated the January 8, 2023 attacks, sentencing him to more than 27 years and barring him from office until 2030.
- Flávio made the statement days after visiting his father at federal police headquarters in Brasília, following months in which allies—including São Paulo governor Tarcísio de Freitas—were floated as potential right‑wing contenders.