President Jair Bolsonaro, currently without a political affiliation, as well as his children, will likely join the Patriota party, a conservative movement led by Adilson Barroso.
The news was given by senator Flávio Bolsonaro (RJ), one of the heirs of the chief executive, who joined the party and spoke at a party convention on Monday, May 31st, where he announced the news.
The idea is for the Bolsonaro clan to compete in the 2022 elections for their new party, which is still awaiting Bolsonaro's official conscription into its ranks. In his speech, Flávio said that the goal is to build “the biggest party in Brazil after the elections”.
Besides Flávio, Bolsonaro has two other sons who work in institutional politics: federal congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro and city councilor Carlos Bolsonaro, who is already affiliated to the Patriota party in Rio de Janeiro.
Throughout his political trajectory, Jair Bolsonaro has gone through eight parties so far.
Patriota
During this Monday's party convention, Adilson Barroso even stated that President Bolsonaro would have officialized his affiliation “without asking for a much” in return.
Behind the scenes, the party leader tries to lay the ground internally to facilitate the chief executive’s and his allies’ affiliation.
Within Patriota, some names are contrary to the move. This is the case of Rubinho Nunes. Currently a city councilor in São Paulo, he took to Twitter last Monday criticizing the news:
“Bolsonaro bought Patriota out. The arrival of senator Flávio Bolsonaro is deeply regrettable. A party that has already been harmed by corruption in the past, taking such an attitude [is something that] shows the party’s pettines and its absence of ethical and moral values”, he posted.
Patriota is the former National Ecological Party (PEN), which changed its name between 2017 and 2018. President Bolsonaro even flirted with the acronym in 2017, when he went as far as signing a membership form. However, he ended up joining the PSL party, consolidating an alliance that led him to the Presidency of the Republic.
Edited by: Leandro Melito
