In Brazil, Bolsonaro family feud spills into public view, shaking conservative camp ahead polls

BRASILIA, July 5 — After months of rumours of a family rift, Brazil’s former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro has dropped a political bombshell: an Instagram video detailing her fallout with her stepson Flavio Bolsonaro, who is running for president in October polls.

As far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro serves out a lengthy jail term under house arrest, the public feud has shaken Brazil’s powerful conservative movement and threatens to further weaken its appeal among women voters.

“He was very rude, he disrespected me and mistreated me on the phone,” Michelle Bolsonaro, 44, told her 8.2 million Instagram followers about her stepson Flavio Bolsonaro, 45.

“He said I... understood nothing about politics,” she said, referring to a dispute over which candidates the far-right Liberal Party (PL) will field in the polls.

Poised, deeply devout, and devoted to her 71-year-old jailed husband, Michelle Bolsonaro has embraced the political spotlight in recent years and her name had circulated as a possible presidential contender after Jair Bolsonaro was convicted over a botched coup bid.

However, Flavio Bolsonaro was anointed by his father to face off against leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The two men had been neck-and-neck in the polls, but Bolsonaro has fallen behind by several percentage points after he was linked to a banker accused of fraud.

“I have enormous respect for Michelle; I am convinced we will overcome this difficult moment and that she will walk alongside us,” said Flavio Bolsonaro.

The prospect appears increasingly unlikely.

Bolsonaro apologised to his stepmother, but she resigned from her role this week as head of the PL women’s wing and party president Valdemar Costa warned she might abandon plans to run for the Senate.

‘We painted Brazil pink’ 

Brazil’s right has long battled to win over women voters, while Lula has a big lead over the conservatives with this demographic.

Jair Bolsonaro was often slammed for comments seen as demeaning to women and his son has sought to broaden his appeal. His camp has said he is mulling a female running mate.

In her video, Michelle Bolsonaro recalled how she had built up the women’s wing “from scratch”, electing over a thousand female leaders, and helping “reduce rejection” of some male candidates.

“We painted Brazil pink,” she said.

Ana Carolina Evangelista, director of the Institute for the Study of Religion, told AFP that Michelle Bolsonaro was also “the person who connects and communicates organically with Brazil’s evangelical community.”

“There is a dual importance here: expanding reach into the evangelical sphere and expanding reach among women,” she said.

According to Evangelista, Michelle Bolsonaro’s video was strategic: she is planting seeds for a potential presidential run in 2030.

And should Flavio Bolsonaro’s fortunes worsen further in this year’s election campaign, his stepmother will have put sufficient distance between them, she said.

‘Women vote poorly’ 

Flavio Bolsonaro has been putting out several fires just three months from the election.

In May, a leaked audio recording showed him asking banker Daniel Vorcaro to finance a Hollywood film about his father titled “Dark Horse.”

Vorcaro was the majority shareholder in the small private Master Bank, which collapsed last year, and was jailed as part of a major fraud investigation that has rattled Brazil’s elite.

After his stepmother’s video came out, Flavio Bolsonaro condemned remarks by Bolsonaro family ally and right-wing commentator Paulo Figueiredo, who published a video criticising Michelle Bolsonaro and stated: “Statistically, women vote very poorly — especially single women.”

As the crisis unfolds, the conservative camp is calling for unity.

“Anyone with a large family knows. Everything works out in the end,” said Carlos Portinho, leader of the PL caucus in the Senate. — AFP