Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro emerged as a major winner from the country’s latest elections despite being barred from public office and serving a 27-year sentence over a coup plot.
Bolsonaro, 71, who is under house arrest, watched as his eldest son, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, defeated left-wing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the first round of the presidential election.
Flavio secured 47 per cent of the vote against Lula’s 45 per cent, setting up a second-round contest on October 25.
The result has made Flavio the favourite, according to political analysts, and marked a major boost for the Bolsonaro family’s right-wing movement.
The former president’s Liberal Party also recorded significant gains across the legislature.
Its representation in the 81-member Senate nearly doubled to 28 seats, giving the party its strongest showing since Brazil returned to democracy in the 1980s.
Four other members of the Bolsonaro family also won seats in Sunday’s election.
Bolsonaro’s wife, Michelle, and his second son, Carlos, secured Senate seats, while his brother Renato and youngest son, Jair Renan, were elected to the lower house.
“In Brazilian political history, I do not remember any political clan that ever managed to elect so many members all at once,” said political analyst Antonio Flavio Testa, who served on Bolsonaro’s transition team in 2018.
Flavio was chosen by his father to run for president in December after Bolsonaro was prevented from contesting the election.
His campaign initially struggled to attract major political allies, with Flavio eventually selecting fellow Liberal Party lawmaker Alfredo Gaspar as his running mate.
Although Bolsonaro was unable to campaign publicly because of his legal restrictions, his influence remained evident.
An AI-generated avatar of the former president endorsed his son at the launch of Flavio’s campaign.
Bolsonaro has been under house arrest since March after previously serving his sentence in prison.
His health problems include complications from a 2018 stabbing, while Brazil’s Supreme Court has restricted visits by his eldest son for the past three months.
The strong performance by the Bolsonaro camp could also revive efforts to secure an amnesty for the former president.
A senior aide to Flavio said Congress could consider the matter next year, while an earlier vote could be possible if the current lawmakers seek to improve relations with the incoming administration.
Flavio said in September that he hoped his father would be present when he is inaugurated.
“I ask God for the opportunity to walk up the ramp of Planalto Palace next year alongside President Jair Messias Bolsonaro,” he said.
However, Lula still has a path to victory in the runoff. Political consulting firm Think Policy said the contest would be “very difficult, but not impossible” for the incumbent president.
The firm estimated that Lula would need to win 62 per cent of voters who supported conservative candidates other than Flavio in the first round.
With Flavio’s prospects looking strong, Liberal Party President Valdemar da Costa Neto told Reuters that Bolsonaro could potentially return to government in some capacity under his son’s administration.
