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Waack argues Bolsonaro family has lost its grip on Brazil's right

His analysis separates the family's political setback from the parliamentary strength that could still complicate Lula's presidency.

Channel: CNN Brasil ·

BrazilStory of October 29, 2026Trari Newsroom

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Waack: Flávio deixa o País e a direita busca novo comando

Flávio Bolsonaro's departure for the United States raises a leadership question for Brazil's right, William Waack argues: can the Bolsonaro family still control the movement after losing the presidential election?

In a commentary on Brazil's CNN Brasil, the WW presenter describes Jair Bolsonaro's decision to put his son into the presidential contest as a gamble. In Waack's reading, the former president accepted the risk of electoral defeat in order to keep leadership of the right within the family. He argues that the election loss and Flávio's departure have undermined both objectives.

Flávio, a Liberal Party senator representing Rio de Janeiro, is the son of Jair Bolsonaro, who governed Brazil from 2019 to 2023. Waack calls him a weak presidential candidate, an assessment rather than a neutral description of the result.

The presenter also discusses Federal Police and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes's actions concerning requests for Flávio's passports. He distinguishes understanding why the senator left Brazil from justifying that decision.

But Waack does not present the family's setback as an uncomplicated victory for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. His closing argument is that Lula faces a difficult fiscal situation alongside a right-wing opposition with substantial strength in Congress. In that account, uncertainty over who leads the right does not mean the opposition has lost its ability to constrain the government.