Bolsonaro’s son rethinks run for Brazil presidency

Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the eldest son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, said he may not run for president in next year’s general election.

His stance marks a reversal from Friday’s announcement in which the younger Bolsonaro said his father had chosen him to run for the Liberal Party, jolting markets that had bet that a more experienced candidate would solidify support on the right.

The senator said after attending a religious ceremony that a definitive announcement would be made on Monday.

“There’s a chance I won’t go all the way,” he said, adding that his resignation would “come at a cost.”

The senator declined to say whether the price would be for Congress to vote on a bill to pardon those convicted of occupying and destroying public buildings in January 2023 to protest the election results.

“I just want you to think about what’s at stake in Brazil and how much it means to me to withdraw my candidacy.”

Former right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a 27-year prison sentence, was convicted of plotting a coup after losing to leftist Luis Inacio Lula da Silva in the 2022 elections.