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Brazil’s right-wing statesmanlike campaigner Flavio Bolsonaro was riding precocious successful the polls until the quality broke of his ties to a banker jailed implicit a multi-million dollar fraud scandal. The 45-year-old Senator had been polling neck-and-neck with 80-year-old President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is expected to question a 4th word successful statesmanlike elections successful October.
But a alteration whitethorn beryllium nether mode pursuing the work of an audio signaling by investigative outlet The Intercept successful which Mr. Bolsonaro asked disgraced banker Daniel Vorcaro to concern a movie helium was making astir his father, erstwhile far-right President Jair Bolsonaro.
Polls had projected a Bolsonaro-Lula necktie successful the 2nd round, giving a flimsy vantage to the right-wing hopeful. Now, his ratings look to person dwindled, with 1 canvass putting the right-wing campaigner 7 points down leftist Lula.
Mr. Vorcaro was the large shareholder successful the tiny backstage Master Bank that collapsed past year, sparking a large fraud probe that has rattled the highest echelons of powerfulness successful Latin America’s largest economy.
According to The Intercept, the contentious audio is portion of a bid of records documenting a woody successful which Mr. Vorcaro pledged to lend $24 cardinal to the movie “Dark Horse”, successful which “The Passion of the Christ” prima Jim Caviezel plays Jair Bolsonaro.
“It makes maine uncomfortable to beryllium asking you,” Flavio Bolsonaro tells the banker successful the recording, calling him “brother.” “We’re astatine a precise decisive infinitesimal present with the film. And since determination are galore overdue payments, everyone is tense,” helium says.
Just nether fractional of that magnitude was really paid, the work said Mr. Bolsonaro said “zero nationalist funds” were progressive successful the transaction.
Unfazed
Mr. Bolsonaro is astatine the helm of the right-wing question erstwhile steered by his father, who is successful jailhouse for an attempted coup. The Senator told his enactment members connected Tuesday (May 19, 2026) helium felt “very calm” arsenic the published signaling threatened to dent his nationalist support.
He did admit, however, that helium had met with Mr. Vorcaro erstwhile the banker was nether location arrest. Nevertheless, his governmental supporters amusement nary motion of bolting. “There is nary treatment whatsoever astir the proposal of replacing Flavio” arsenic enactment candidate, pro-Bolsonaro lawmaker Evair de Melo told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The near has meantime seized the accidental to summation ground. Ivan Valente, a subordinate of leftist enactment Socialism and Liberty Party (PSOL) which is allied with Mr. Lula’s Worker’s Party, called the ungraded “perhaps the astir important development” of the pre-campaign.
“If the revelations continue, it volition beryllium lethal for Bolsonaro’s candidacy,” helium told AFP, adding Mr. Lula whitethorn beryllium capable to curry favour among “disappointed” blimpish voters.
‘Bolsonaro blood’
The signaling had near Mr. Bolsonaro “a precise weakened candidate,” Marcio Coimbra, manager of the deliberation vessel Casa Politica, told AFP. Despite the “wear and tear,” however, Bolsonaro elder volition guarantee his son’s candidacy “until the end,” according to Mr. Coimbra.
The erstwhile President endorsed his lad implicit different much viable candidates arsenic a mode to “keep the close nether his control” — and for that it was “necessary to person Bolsonaro blood,” helium said.
The younger Bolsonaro has sought to represent himself arsenic a much mean person than his father, though connected issues specified arsenic information helium has pledged to travel the hardline attack of El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele. Jair Bolsonaro “will ever beryllium my guiding star. He is my compass, my constituent of reference,” Flavio Bolsonaro told CNN Brasil.
The convicted erstwhile President’s lad has besides had run-ins with the justness system. In 2020, the nationalist authoritative accused him of embezzling nationalist funds erstwhile helium was a authorities lawman successful Rio de Janeiro, but the probe was closed without charges.
