Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro announced his endorsement of his son Flavio’s 2026 presidential bid on Thursday, issuing the statement from a hospital in Brasilia where he underwent a scheduled hernia operation, Reuters reported. Doctors confirmed the procedure went smoothly.
Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes authorized Bolsonaro to leave prison, where he is serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup, to undergo the surgery. According to reports, police officers were ordered to remain outside his hospital room, where computers and mobile phones were prohibited.
Flavio Bolsonaro, 44, currently a senator, has declared his intention to continue his father’s conservative political legacy in the upcoming October 4 election, seeking to unseat leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
“With the commitment of not allowing the popular will to be silenced, I make the decision to nominate Flavio Bolsonaro as a pre-candidate for the presidency in 2026,” said Jair Bolsonaro in a letter read aloud by his son outside the hospital.
Earlier this week, the younger Bolsonaro told Reuters in an interview that he may visit Israel next month as part of a planned tour abroad.
The trip, he noted, could also include stops in the United States, Argentina, Chile, Europe, and other destinations in the Middle East.
Jair Bolsonaro was a staunch supporter of Israel during his time as president and visited the country in March of 2019.
Bolsonaro often showcases Israeli flag at rallies, and his sons have been seen in the past wearing IDF and Mossad shirts.
His successor as Brazil’s President, Lula da Silva, has presented an anti-Israel stance, having compared Israel’s actions in Gaza to those of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler against Jews during World War II.
Later, da Silva announced that the Brazilian ambassador to Israel would be recalled and that Brazil has decided to summon Israel's ambassador to the country for a reprimand.
Despite the uproar over his comments, the Brazilian President doubled down on his rhetoric, writing on X, “What the Israeli government is doing is not war, it is genocide. Children and women are being murdered.”