Brazil’s right-wing Liberal Party nominated former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro as a Senate candidate on Sunday, despite her recent public feud with her stepson Flávio Bolsonaro, the party’s presidential nominee.
With former President Jair Bolsonaro under house arrest over allegations of plotting a coup at the end of his 2019-2022 term, Michelle and Flávio Bolsonaro have been locked in a struggle over influence within Brazil’s conservative movement. The feud became public in late June when Michelle, 44, accused her stepson, 45, of disrespecting her, saying he had told her she “didn’t understand anything about politics.”
The dispute was seen as a potential obstacle to Flávio’s efforts to broaden his support ahead of the presidential race, given Michelle’s popularity among female and evangelical voters. He issued a public apology before his formal nomination as the Liberal Party’s presidential candidate last weekend, which she accepted. Speaking at Sunday’s event, Flávio said, “we are going to rescue democracy, together with Michelle Bolsonaro.”
Michelle did not attend the nomination event in Brasília, which had been expected to serve as a symbolic reunion between the two. She was hospitalized Saturday night with a headache resistant to oral medication and underwent a cranial nerve anesthetic block, according to the private clinic that treated her; she was discharged Sunday as the event was underway.
Flávio Bolsonaro will face leftist incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, 80, in October’s election. Lula, who is seeking a fourth nonconsecutive term, has gained momentum in recent weeks despite public frustration over the cost of living and rising security concerns.
