Former President Jair Bolsonaro He is in prison on charges of planning a coup, and his children and political heirs suffer from it Mistakes made by themselves“, notes the Financial Times. The report published on Monday (the first) mentions this “The Bolsonian movement is in trouble”.
The British newspaper says that due to the mistakes of Bolsonaro and his sons, the Bolsonaroist tendency has weakened, and therefore the right is trying to find a new leader for the 2026 presidential elections, pointing to the governor of São Paulo, Tarcisio de Freitas, as the best option.
According to the car, the Bolsonaro clan’s strategy to seek help in Washington, referring to Eduardo Bolsonaro’s trip to the United States to try to prevent the former president’s arrest, “failed spectacularly.”
“The clan’s strategy of seeking help from Washington failed miserably: when Bolsonaro faced trial in Brazil, his son, congressman Eduardo, lobbied on his behalf in the United States, resulting in trade tariffs that angered Brazil’s business class and exposed Eduardo to charges at home. “The campaign failed to prevent his father’s arrest,” says the Financial Times.
The newspaper also notes that attempts to rescue Bolsonaro from prison, appealing to US President Donald Trump, “proved disastrous.”
One interviewee, who did not wish to be identified and who the newspaper says is an important figure in one of Brazil’s main financial institutions, said that the Bolsonaro family’s mistakes had “significantly destroyed its political image” and that Eduardo Bolsonaro seeking outside interference was “absolutely reprehensible,” noting that the family had “gone crazy.”
Tarcísio “speaks Faria Lima”
The Financial Times report also highlights that due to the influence of the Bolsonaro family’s missteps, Tarcisio de Freitas is seen as the right-wing hope for the presidency in 2026. The newspaper stated that Tarcisio “speaks the language of Faria Lima,” referring to the street that is the country’s main financial center, but would only run if he was supported by Bolsonaro.
According to the Financial Times, even if Tarcisio gets support, he will have a task when he faces current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The newspaper indicates that the challenge may be greater, as the Brazilian economy is performing well, with strong growth in employment and wages, in addition to its low dependence on the American market, which has protected the country from the worst effects of the tariffs imposed by Trump.
But, according to the newspaper, the right’s “better” bet is to focus the campaign on crime and public security, which are considered “Lula’s weaknesses.”
“If the elections had been held two months later, Lula would have been the winner. But we still have almost a year to go,” the report said.
*Trainee under the supervision of Diogo Max