Flávio Bolsonaro Wins First Round, Vows to Rewrite Brazil's Constitution and Jail 16-Year-Olds

Flávio Bolsonaro Wins First Round, Vows to Rewrite Brazil's Constitution and Jail 16-Year-Olds

Flávio Bolsonaro, son of jailed former President Jair Bolsonaro, is now the favourite to win Brazil's presidency after surging to 47 percent in the first round. He promises sweeping constitutional changes and a Supreme Court packed with allies.

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Flávio Bolsonaro, the far-right senator and son of jailed former President Jair Bolsonaro, is now the favourite to become Brazil's next president after leading the first round of voting on October 4 with 47 percent [255617]. He will face left-wing candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in a runoff on October 25 [257896].

Bolsonaro has vowed to use his Liberal Party's congressional bloc to push through a constitutional reform if he wins. The changes would restructure the judiciary, lower the age of criminal responsibility from 18 to 16, and abolish presidential re-election [257896]. He said he intends to use his party's legislative weight to choose the presiding officers of both chambers and "amend the Constitution, to redemocratise the country" [257896].

If elected, Bolsonaro is expected to have the support of most judges on Brazil's Supreme Federal Court [259522].

His rise has stunned Brazil's left-wing parties. Lula reached the 45 percent predicted by polls, but the right exceeded expectations [255617]. Bolsonaro's movement flipped 714 municipalities that Lula won in 2022, and the right also secured a majority in Congress [255617]. The runoff will decide whether the left can recover or whether the right's momentum carries it to power [255617].

Former Brazilian environment minister Marina Silva has warned that Flávio Bolsonaro will try to complete his father's "perverse project" to destroy the Amazon if he becomes president [259621]. During Jair Bolsonaro's presidency from 2019 to 2022, Brazil's environment and Indigenous protection agencies were gutted, and environmental criminals ran riot, causing surges in deforestation and violence [259621]. Silva said Flávio Bolsonaro would seek to finish what his father started [259621].

The Bolsonaro family's legal troubles continue to mount. Brazilian authorities have issued an arrest warrant for Eduardo Bolsonaro, another son of the former president. Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered that Eduardo Bolsonaro begin serving his prison sentence immediately. The former lawmaker was convicted of putting pressure on Brazil's judiciary [257750]. Eduardo Bolsonaro has not yet responded to the warrant [257750].

Sources

Amazon at risk? Bolsonaro's son 'will finish father's project' #259621Brazil's Bolsonaro Jr. vows to rewrite Constitution, jail 16-year-olds #257896Bolsonaro's son eyes Supreme Court majority? #259522Brazil issues arrest warrant for Eduardo Bolsonaro #257750Brazil's Left Stunned as Right Surges in First Round #255617

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