SAO PAULO (AP) — A year ago, Brazilian Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro touted his family’s connection with U.S. President Donald Trump as a major political asset. This week, Bolsonaro is in Washington leaning into that relationship again in an attempt to shore up his weakening presidential bid after he received millions of dollars from a disgraced banker.
Bolsonaro arrived on Tuesday without a public agenda. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, his rival in October’s elections, had a three-hour meeting with Trump on May 7. The 80-year-old leader seeks a fourth, nonconsecutive term.
The Trump administration has not commented publicly on the Bolsonaro scandal.
The son of former President Jair Bolsonaro has been under fire since May 13, when messages leaked by The Intercept from a federal police investigation showed he received about $12 million from Daniel Vorcaro, former owner of the shuttered Banco Master.
Vorcaro is accused of defrauding bank customers out of hundreds of millions of dollars after he convinced them to make shady investments. Brazil’s federal police estimate the bank’s total fraud at 12 billion reais ($2.3 billion).
Flávio Bolsonaro has denied any wrongdoing and asserts that Vorcaro’s money was used to produce a movie about his father’s life. Bolsonaro is not expected to be part of the case, but the investigation continues.
Political opponents have been on the attack since the revelation.
“Anyone getting close to a criminal banker gives a bad sign,” former Minas Gerais Gov. Romeu Zema, a Jair Bolsonaro supporter who is running for the presidency, said on Monday.
Bolsonaro already lacked support in the business community
Bolsonaro’s campaign has been shaken as he searches for a running mate and tries to form party alliances. The latter is key for him to get more resources and free air time on TV and radio, which is determined by the number of seats that each party holds in the lower house.
Even before Bolsonaro’s connection to Vorcaro was public, he lacked support from many in the business community.
Former Goias Gov. Ronaldo Caiado and Renan Santos, also presidential hopefuls, have raised doubts about Bolsonaro, and some politicians argue that former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro should replace him as presidential candidate.
“Michelle would bring many voters back. She has a good name for herself,” former environment minister and lawmaker Ricardo Salles said in a recent podcast. “She is much softer and that could work.”
Michelle Bolsonaro lives with the former president in Brasilia, where he is under house arrest for his coup attempt conviction. She has remained silent about the link between the senator and the failed banker and about making a presidential run.
“That is none of my business. I have to take care of my husband,” she said last week.
An ally says the candidacy is ‘still standing’
Sen. Marcos Rogerio, one of Flávio Bolsonaro’s key allies in congress, said the presidential hopeful has been giving the necessary explanations for what happened between him and Vorcaro.
“Moments like this deserve our attention. He needs to make it all clear. But he has also argued in favor of a congressional inquiry on Banco Master. This thing will not bar his candidacy at all,” Rogério told journalists on Saturday. “We are not going to re-evaluate his bid or choose a different person. The senator’s candidacy is still standing.”
Political analyst Lula Guimaraes, who has worked for candidates across the political spectrum in Brazilian elections, said the revelations would have been deadly for Bolsonaro if they had come out shortly before the vote.
The police investigations could further hurt his chances, but voters might leave the issue aside when it matters, Guimaraes added.
“As of now, people in Brazil want to know who will win the next World Cup. They want to know whether Neymar will play or not. That alone will make this whole affair less visible for a month,” Guimaraes said. “I don’t think this alone will be deadly for Flávio Bolsonaro, but even the man himself said there’s more about him and Vorcaro to come out. He’d better buckle up.”
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