RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec 8 (Reuters) – Sao Paulo Governor Tarcisio de Freitas said on Monday that Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro will have his support in a potential run for president next year, following days of silence about the matter.
“Flavio can count on us,” Tarcisio told reporters after an event. He added that he will always be loyal to the senator’s father, former President Jair Bolsonaro.
On Friday, the younger Bolsonaro said his father, who is serving a 27-year sentence for a coup plot in 2022, backed him for a presidential run next year, jilting markets that had bet on a more seasoned candidate consolidating support on the right.
Some investors had bet on Bolsonaro backing a more market-friendly name with executive experience, such as the Sao Paulo governor, to challenge leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
(Reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier; Writing by Fernando Cardoso; Editing by Leslie Adler)
