The Liberal Party (PL), the formation of Senator and former candidate Flávio Bolsonaro, has distanced itself from the letter with a 'coupist' tone in which he proclaimed himself "leader" of Brazil after fleeing to the United States, in a context of growing unease among right-wing figures, who fear that this move will end up eroding the opposition front to the president and election winner, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
"I did not like it," admitted the president of the PL, Valdemar Costa Neto, upon his arrival this Thursday at the residence of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is under house arrest serving his sentence for coupism, in a visit authorized by Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes, according to G1.
Within the PL there is concern that Bolsonaro's escape could end up damaging the formation, just when it has established itself as the main force in Congress after these general elections, in which, in addition to the Presidency, the composition of the legislative chambers and regional governments was being decided.
At the same time, there is fear that his absence will boost the figure of Jair Bolsonaro's wife, Michelle Bolsonaro, recently elected senator, as the new reference of bolsonarism, a possibility that makes his stepchildren uneasy, among them Flávio, with whom he already staged a new clash, this time public, in the middle of the electoral pre-campaign.
The unease over Flávio Bolsonaro's decision adds to that expressed by other leaders of Brazilian right-wing, such as the governor of Sao Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas, who after learning of the content of the statement released the day before asked him to "move forward" and "respect the election results".
In an initial version of that text, Bolsonaro presented himself as "president-elect", although later he released a correction in which he defined himself only as "leader" and again insisted on his refusal to recognize the election result.
De Freitas, who at the time was considered a possible consensus candidate of the right for these elections, pointed out that, although he understands the unease of the eldest son of the former president, the situation requires "responsibility" and "serenity" to articulate a solid opposition, something that involves "respecting the democratic process and working within the institutions".
That diagnosis is shared by a good part of the right, including the forces of the 'centrão', the influential bloc of Congress without whose support it is unfeasible to carry the legislature forward, such as União Brasil, the Social Democratic Party (PSD) or the Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB), as well as by broad evangelical sectors.