RIO DE JANEIRO, June 30 (Reuters) – Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s hopes of regaining the presidency in 2026 may be over. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be a Bolsonaro in operation three years from now.
Brazil’s federal electoral court (TSE) froze Bolsonaro’s political career on Friday, barring the far-right nationalist from public office until 2030 for spreading baseless claims about the country’s voting system in this year’s elections past
The ruling represents a devastating setback for the 68-year-old career politician who was until recently the most powerful man in Brazil.
But it may not mean the end for the Bolsonaro clan.
Speaking on Thursday shortly after landing in Rio de Janeiro, where he was greeted with shouts of “criminal” and “coup”, Bolsonaro backed his wife Michelle for 2026.
“Of course I would support a Michelle candidacy,” he said.
In an Instagram post shortly after the TSE’s decision, Michelle wrote: “‘Our dream is more alive than ever’… I am at your command my CAPTAIN.”
Bolsonaro, who also faces several criminal investigations that could land him in prison, is blamed by many Brazilians for creating a nationwide movement to boycott elections after his loss in last year’s vote to the left-wing president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
He has previously suggested that once “out of the game” he could become a political kingpin. But many of his former allies are already pinning their hopes for 2026 on newer faces such as São Paulo Governor Tarcisio Freitas and Minas Gerais Governor Romeu Zema.
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Michelle Bolsonaro is a political newcomer, but her popular demeanor and emphasis on traditional values have won her a following among working-class Brazilian women. Her profile rose during the 2022 campaign, when she became increasingly visible at Bolsonaro’s events as he struggled to attract female voters. She joined his conservative Liberal Party last year, and is now head of its women’s movement.
He has not ruled out the possibility of running for office.
“If, while I’m on this path, and my heart burns for this, I could become a candidate for the legislature,” she said in May.
Like about a third of Brazil’s 200 million people, Michelle, 41, is an evangelical Christian. Evangelicals were strong supporters of Bolsonaro’s conservative family values and distrust Lula.
William Douglas, an evangelical federal appeals court judge who was among the names proposed for Bolsonaro’s pick for the Supreme Court in 2021, said Michelle appealed to some voters.
“Certainly, some evangelical women will identify with her, but I think she will be more successful with the former president’s voters,” he said.
And she is not the only Bolsonaro with the best job in Brazil. Two of Bolsonaro’s children from a previous marriage are federal lawmakers. They may harbor their own presidential ambitions, although neither has announced a candidacy.
Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, 42, was a key player in Brasilia during his father’s four years in office, appointing allies throughout the federal bureaucracy. But he remains tainted by allegations of corruption, which he has denied, from his time as a Rio state lawmaker.
Rep. Eduardo Bolsonaro, 38, has played the role of foreign emissary for the Bolsonaro family, appearing at gun shows and conservative political conferences in the United States where he coincided with high-profile right-wingers such as Steve Bannon. But he remains a polarizing figure, with fringe political views and limited support.
Reporting by Gabriel Stargardter, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien
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