Flávio Bolsonaro

Flávio Bolsonaro (born April 30, 1981, Resende, Brazil) is a Brazilian politician and lawyer as well as the eldest son of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro. A longtime politician in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Flávio Bolsonaro served four terms in the state legislature before being elected to the Federal Senate in 2018. He became an influential figure in the conservative far-right political movement associated with his father, and in 2026 he became the presidential candidate for the Liberal Party (Partido Liberal).

Bolsonaro’s rise to national prominence has been closely intertwined with that of his father. During his father’s presidency (2019–23), Bolsonaro faced scrutiny over allegations of a rachadinha (an arrangement in which government employees return portions of their salaries to the politician who employs them or to the politician’s associates). Although the allegations became a significant controversy surrounding his political career, higher courts later invalidated key evidence in the investigation, and the criminal complaint against him was rejected in 2022.

By 2026, with his father barred from seeking office after being convicted and sentenced for plotting to remain in power following his 2022 election defeat, Bolsonaro had emerged as a leading heir to his father’s political movement and a principal challenger to Brazilian Pres. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the October 2026 presidential election. The first round of that election, held on October 4, saw a strong performance by the Liberal Party, with Bolsonaro finishing ahead of Lula while still falling short of the 50 percent needed to avoid a runoff. In the runoff, held on October 25, Lula defied expectations and became the first Brazilian presidential candidate since the restoration of democracy to win the presidency after finishing second in the opening round. Two days after the election, with a pair of criminal investigations against him pending, Bolsonaro fled Brazil to the United States.

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Early life and political career

Flávio Nantes Bolsonaro was born on April 30, 1981, in Resende, the eldest son of Jair Bolsonaro and his first wife, Rogéria Bolsonaro. His father, a former army officer, was elected to the Rio de Janeiro city council in 1988 and to Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies in 1990. Bolsonaro’s younger brothers Carlos and Eduardo Bolsonaro would also go on to pursue political careers, solidifying a political dynasty for the family. Bolsonaro received a law degree from Candido Mendes University and has specializations in public policy from the University Research Institute of Rio de Janeiro and in entrepreneurship from the Getulio Vargas Foundation.

In 2002, at age 21, Bolsonaro was elected state deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the State of Rio de Janeiro. He won reelection in 2006, 2010, and 2014, serving four consecutive terms. During his years in the legislature, he developed a political profile similar to that of his father in several respects, emphasizing public security, support for the death penalty, and other socially conservative positions. His career also reflected the growth of the family as a political force in Rio de Janeiro: While Flávio Bolsonaro served in the state legislature, Jair Bolsonaro represented the state in Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies, and Carlos Bolsonaro served on Rio de Janeiro’s city council. The family’s political influence expanded dramatically in the 2018 elections. As Jair Bolsonaro mounted a successful campaign for the presidency, Flávio Bolsonaro ran for one of Rio de Janeiro’s seats in the Federal Senate. He won the election and took office in February 2019, giving the family another prominent position in the federal government.

Bolsonaro’s years in the state legislature later became the subject of a criminal investigation concerning an alleged rachadinha, a practice in which political employees return a portion of their salaries to a politician or to the politician’s associates. Prosecutors alleged that Fabrício Queiroz, a former police officer who worked as Bolsonaro’s adviser, helped operate such a scheme within the politician’s legislative office. Bolsonaro denied wrongdoing. Higher courts later invalidated evidence used by prosecutors, including banking and tax information, and in 2022 the Rio de Janeiro Court of Justice rejected the criminal complaint after prosecutors acknowledged the case could no longer be sustained without the invalidated evidence.

National prominence and the 2026 presidential election

Bolsonaro’s election to the Senate in 2019 brought him from Rio de Janeiro politics onto the national stage. During his father’s presidency, Bolsonaro became an influential figure in Congress and one of the leading political voices associated with Bolsonarismo, the conservative movement that coalesced around his father. His position took on greater importance after his father lost his bid for reelection to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (known simply as “Lula”) in 2022 and subsequently became embroiled in a series of legal cases that effectively ended his prospects of ever running for president again.

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In June 2023 Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court barred Bolsonaro’s father from seeking elected office until 2030 for abuse of political power and misuse of the media during the 2022 election. In 2025 things got more serious for Jair Bolsonaro when he was convicted and sentenced to about 27 years in prison for his role in planning a coup to remain in power after his election defeat. He began serving his sentence in November 2025 and was transferred in January 2026 to a facility in the Papuda Penitentiary Complex in Brasília; that March he was allowed to carry out his sentence under house arrest because of his declining health. With the former president ineligible for office, the question of who would inherit his political movement became increasingly important ahead of the 2026 presidential election.

At first Flávio Bolsonaro was not the only possible successor to his father. São Paulo Gov. Tarcísio de Freitas, a former minister in Jair Bolsonaro’s government, was among the other conservative figures discussed as potential presidential candidates. In December 2025, however, Flávio Bolsonaro announced that his father had chosen him to run for president in 2026. Although Bolsonaro promised continuity of the political movement his father had built, he sought to distinguish himself from his father in style, presenting himself as a calmer and more moderate conservative. The Liberal Party formally nominated Bolsonaro for president at its national convention in São Paulo on July 25, 2026. The event highlighted the international alliances surrounding his candidacy. Argentine Pres. Javier Milei attended and spoke in support of him, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a prerecorded message of support. Bolsonaro also cultivated ties with the administration of U.S. Pres. Donald Trump. At home several center-right parties initially declined to join his coalition, illustrating the challenge of uniting the broader Brazilian right behind his candidacy.

2026 presidential election defeat and departure for the United States

Bolsonaro campaigned on public security, tax cuts, conservative social policies, and opposition to Lula and the Workers’ Party (Partido dos Trabalhadores). By August 2026 he had emerged as Lula’s leading challenger, although polls generally showed the incumbent president ahead in the first round with a closer contest in a potential runoff. The first round was held on October 4, and the result represented a remarkable resurgence for Bolsonarismo at a time when the movement’s founder was serving a 27-year prison sentence under house arrest for orchestrating a failed coup. Not only did Flávio exceed pre-election expectations by finishing first in the presidential contest (47 percent to Lula’s 45), but Flávio’s stepmother and former First Lady Michelle Bolsonaro won a Senate seat representing the Federal District and his brother Carlos entered the Senate representing Santa Catarina. Jair’s youngest son, Jair Renan Bolsonaro, was elected to the Chamber of Deputies, as was Jair’s brother Renato.

Flávio faced Lula in a runoff on October 25, and he had pledged that, if elected, he would pardon his father and others convicted of the 2023 coup attempt. In that event, however, Lula staged a remarkable comeback, capturing nearly 52 percent of the vote and securing a fourth term as president. Voter turnout was exceptionally strong, with participation topping 80 percent.

Bolsonaro initially refused to concede defeat and called for the election to be annulled. The following day, Bolsonaro was ordered to surrender his passports, as he was under investigation for corruption and money laundering, charges that he denied. Although he had stated that his intention was to remain in Brazil and lead the opposition to Lula, his younger brother Eduardo had publicly encouraged him to flee to the United States if he lost. Bolsonaro’s term as a senator was set to expire on January 31, 2027, a date that would also mark the end of his legislative immunity from prosecution.

On October 27, Bolsonaro failed to comply with a Supreme Court order requiring him to surrender his passports, prompting Brazilian authorities to cancel the documents and instruct immigration officials to prevent him from leaving the country. Later that day, Bolsonaro disappeared from public view, with his attorneys and campaign staff reportedly unable to account for his whereabouts. His location remained uncertain until reports emerged that he had crossed into Argentina by land with his wife and two daughters before boarding a private flight to Guayaquil, Ecuador. Despite the restrictions imposed by Brazilian authorities, Bolsonaro continued on to the United States, arriving in Miami on October 28, where he reunited with his younger brother Eduardo. The Trump administration had granted visas to Bolsonaro and his family, allowing them to enter the country. It remained unclear how Bolsonaro had managed to cross the Brazilian border despite the restrictions on his departure. His actions drew comparisons with those of his father, former president Jair Bolsonaro, who had traveled to Florida following his defeat in the 2022 presidential election. Lula called Bolsonaro’s flight from Brazil “shameful” and stated that “a person who sneaks out of their country must have something to hide.”