Brazilian senator Flávio Bolsonaro, son of the former president and a candidate to lead Brazil, will be investigated for a crime of slander, for associating President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva with various crimes. The case dates back to January 3, the day of the U.S. military operation that resulted in the kidnapping of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela. Shortly after, Bolsonaro’s son wrote on X: “Lula will be denounced. It is the end of the São Paulo Forum: international drug and arms trafficking, money laundering, support for terrorists and dictatorships, fraudulent elections…”. Along with the text, he posted two photos: one of Maduro arrested and another with a press headline reporting that Lula had called an emergency meeting after Trump captured the Venezuelan leader.
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The decision to open an investigation was made by Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes, who responded to a request from the Federal Police. The magistrate’s decision was announced this Wednesday. The Prosecutor’s Office approved the opening of the case, understanding that, with that message on social media, Bolsonaro’s eldest son “falsely and publicly attributed criminal acts to the President of the Republic in a humiliating manner.” Now a 60-day period opens for the police to investigate.
The opening of an investigation now, six months before the elections, adds fuel to the fire at a time of pre-campaign and as the candidacies of Lula and Bolsonaro’s daughter are consolidating ahead of the October elections. The conservative senator reacted to the news by releasing a statement expressing “surprise” and emphasizing that “it is striking” that the case ended up in the hands of Moraes, the judge whom the far right in Brazil considers public enemy number one, due to his tough stance against coup plotters.
For Flávio Bolsonaro, the episode evokes “the blockades and censorship” that, in his opinion, the right suffered in the 2022 elections and in some way insisted on the initial thesis of Lula’s dangerous friendships with Maduro. “We will not yield to intimidation or the use of the police and judicial apparatus to silence the opposition. The Lula government must explain its relations with the Venezuelan dictatorship,” he reiterated.
The opening of this investigation comes as Bolsonaro’s son is gradually gaining ground on Lula in the polls. According to a survey released this Wednesday by the Quaest Institute, the senator would have 42% of valid votes in a second round, compared to Lula’s 40%. Considering the margin of error, it is a technical tie. The same survey also indicates that more Brazilians disapprove of the Lula government (52%) than approve of it (43%).
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