Flavio Bolsonaro does not have the charisma and stature of a Maria Corina Machado or a Javier Milei. The Venezuelan Nobel Peace Prize winner sees it as her life's work to restore basic rights in her homeland. Argentina's libertarian president wants to rehabilitate an ailing economy. But Flavio Bolsonaro only had his father's photo during the election campaign. That wasn't enough to win against Lula da Silva's well-oiled power machine.
With his confusing letter from exile in Miami, Bolsonaro did neither his supporters nor himself any favors. But the big winners from Bolsonaro's escape are the judges at the Supreme Court. As soon as Lula officially won the election, the machinery there began to move.
On the evening of the election, the federal police submitted an application to the court to revoke Bolsonaro's passport. It seemed as if the Brazilian judiciary, at the center of corruption allegations, was just waiting to launch a vendetta against Lula da Silva's rival. If Bolsonaro had won, some judges would have faced impeachment proceedings.
When Lula da Silva completes his fourth term in office at the end of 2030, his left-wing Workers' Party will have held the presidency in 22 of 28 years. And with it the right to determine the staff of the Supreme Court. The judges can be selected on a parity basis or they can be used for political purposes.
When Flavio's father Jair Bolsonaro once nominated an evangelical judge for the court, there was a huge outcry in the international media. When Lula elevated his personal lawyer and a minister from his cabinet to the highest legal positions, there was indifference.
Both of Lula's rivals - Jair Bolsonaro and his son Flavio - are being investigated by the judiciary, while the anti-corruption NGO "Transparency" is being threatened by a judge at the Court because it is looking closely at the money flowing around the Lula government. When a journalist discovered irregularities around the controversial judge Alexandre de Moraes, Moraes authorized the lifting of journalistic source protection - a shock for Brazil's journalists.
At the same time, politicians from Lula's power machine who were convicted of corruption were released and rehabilitated. Lula granted political asylum to Peru's former first lady, Nadine Heredia, who was convicted of corruption. She had fled to the Brazilian embassy.
The judges in Brazil showed no interest in their detailed knowledge of the corruption scandal involving the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht, for which Lula da Silva shares political responsibility. The investigation stalled. Because of all these incidents, Brazilians' trust in millionaires wearing judges' robes has been shaken, and calls for judicial reform are unmistakable. There is the impression that Lula da Silva has converted the judiciary into a kind of legal protection insurance for his power base.
Two days after his election victory, on his 81st birthday, the president had the opportunity to set the tone for the coming presidency. When asked about Flavio Bolsonaro's escape, he could have said that he would not comment on ongoing proceedings and would let the justice system do its work. Instead, he said: Only those who have something to hide leave. It sounded like work instructions.
