Brazil’s presidential campaign is becoming a contest over whether political power should reverse judicial accountability.
BRASÍLIA, BRAZIL
Flávio Bolsonaro has promised to seek freedom for his father, former president Jair Bolsonaro, if he wins Brazil’s presidential election. During an interview with Rede Globo, the Liberal Party candidate described the proceedings against his father as a political “farce” designed to remove him from public life. He claimed the judges involved were Bolsonaro’s political enemies.
Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court convicted Jair Bolsonaro in September 2025 and sentenced him to 27 years and three months in prison. The former president was found guilty of leading a conspiracy to overturn his 2022 electoral defeat, violently abolish democratic rule and maintain himself in power. He is currently serving the sentence under humanitarian house arrest because of health problems.
Flávio said he would first pursue a broad amnesty for his father and others convicted over the coup attempt and the attack on Brazil’s federal institutions. Amnesty would require approval from Congress and could extinguish criminal penalties covered by the legislation. If lawmakers refuse, Flávio has promised to issue a presidential pardon by decree.
The Brazilian Constitution grants the president clemency powers, but that authority is not immune from judicial scrutiny. Any decree designed primarily to benefit the president’s father or invalidate the consequences of an attack on democratic institutions would almost certainly face constitutional challenges before the Supreme Court. Winning the election would therefore provide Flávio with political authority to attempt a pardon, but would not guarantee its legal survival.
The senator simultaneously promised to respect the electoral process and accept the result of the vote. That commitment is significant because Jair Bolsonaro repeatedly questioned Brazil’s electronic voting system before refusing to accept Lula da Silva’s victory. A recent Datafolha survey placed Lula at 39 percent and Flávio at 33 percent in the first round, with a possible runoff showing a narrower 47 to 43 percent advantage for the incumbent. The campaign now tests whether voters see the promised pardon as reconciliation, family loyalty or an attempt to subordinate judicial decisions to presidential power.
La narrativa también es poder. / Narrative is power too.