Flávio, Jair Bolsonaro’s eldest son, announced that his father designated him as his political successor and is preparing to be a presidential candidate

“It is with great responsibility that I confirm the decision of Brazil’s greatest political and moral leader, Jair Messias Bolsonaro, to entrust me with the mission of giving continuity to our nation project,” wrote Flávio Bolsonaro in X.

“I place myself before God and Brazil to fulfill this mission,” he added.

Leader of the Brazilian right and extreme right, former president Bolsonaro entered prison in Brasilia last month after being sentenced to 27 years in prison for coup. Since August he had been in preventive house arrest.

It is with great responsibility that I confirm the decision of Brazil’s greatest political and moral leader, Jair Messias Bolsonaro, to give me the mission of continuing our nation’s project.

I cannot, and will not, resign myself to seeing our country walk for a while… pic.twitter.com/vBvHS7M0hJ

— Flavio Bolsonaro (@FlavioBolsonaro) December 5, 2025

Flávio Bolsonaro thus reacted to press reports that had indicated for some time that his father had appointed him to replace him as presidential candidate.

The 44-year-old senator and member of his father’s Liberal Party, has been a faithful companion of the former presidentespecially while the trial against him lasted.

Brazil will hold elections in October 2026, amid strong polarization following Bolsonaro’s prison sentence for leading an attempted coup against President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2022.

Lula, 80, leader of the Workers’ Party, already governed Brazil between 2003 and 2010. And after months of speculation, he announced in October during a trip to Jakarta, Indonesia, his intention to seek the Presidency again, although he later mentioned it again as a possibility.

With former President Bolsonaro out of the electoral race, the right has considered other names for its candidate, among them the governor of San Pablo, Tarcísio de Freitas, and the former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro.

Until now, De Freitas has insisted that he has no intention of running for president in 2026.

The former president has four other children. One of them, Eduardo Bolsonaro, is a congressman currently based in the United States who fought a campaign on behalf of his father before the Donald Trump administration, during the trial.

Flávio is known for having a more moderate profile and with talent as a political articulator.

Bolsonaro, 70, suffers from health problems resulting from a stab wound he received in 2018 during an electoral event in the campaign for that year’s elections, which he ultimately won. After numerous operations, in recent months he has experienced frequent discomfort, especially hiccups and vomiting.

Lawyers have requested “humanitarian” house arrest for him.