Brazilian Supreme Federal Tribunal (STF) Justice Alexandre de Moraes on Monday banned Senator Flávio Bolsonaro from visiting his father, Jair Bolsonaro, after the senator published a handwritten letter signed by the former president.
The ban, which will last for 90 days, effectively bars the younger Bolsonaro from seeing and speaking with his father until October 11 — one week after the October 4 first round of the 2026 Presidential election in Brazil. Flávio Bolsonaro is running against current radical leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who is seeking to be reelected for a fourth term.
Sen. Bolsonaro hosted a livestream on his official YouTube channel on Saturday. In the broadcast, the senator showed and read a letter written by Jair Bolsonaro in which the former president called upon Brazilians to support his son in the upcoming election. Flávio Bolsonaro also published a photo of his father’s letter and a full Portuguese-language transcription of its text on social media.
On Monday, de Moraes — who been at the forefront of a years-long censorship campaign against the Bolsonaros — ordered a complete suspension of all visits by Flavio Bolsonaro to his father over the publication of the handwritten letter. De Moraes reportedly gave a 48-hour deadline to Jair Bolsonaro’s legal team to “address the possible disobedience of a court order” and explain if the former president was “aware of the release of the letter on social media” by his son Flávio.
Jair Bolsonaro is presently serving a 27-year prison sentence for “crimes against democracy” under strict house arrest. By order of Justice de Moraes, former President Bolsonaro is prohibited from speaking to the press, using a computer, or using any kind of communications device, as well as accessing the internet and social media platforms.
According to the Brazilian outlet Metrópoles, de Moraes justified the suspension on the grounds that Flavio Bolsonaro allegedly used his visitation rights to obtain the handwritten letter “for the sole purpose of sharing it on social media.” The Brazilian justice, who accused Flávio of being a “repeat offender” in disregarding court orders, emphasized that Jair Bolsonaro is prohibited from using social media “directly or through third parties.”
Flavio Bolsonaro addressed his followers in a one-hour YouTube livestream on Monday night. The Brazilian senator and presidential candidate accused Alexandre de Moraes of using the “flimsy” and “nonsensical” visitation ban to attempt to interfere in the upcoming election — as the ban is set to expire a week after the October 4 first round.
The younger Bolsonaro, who is a career lawyer, called upon the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB) to intercede and guarantee him the right to visit his father in his capacity as a member of Jair Bolsonaro’s legal team. He also argued that de Moraes “wants a flimsy excuse” to revoke his father’s house arrest.
Similarly, Tracy Reinaldet, a lawyer on Flávio Bolsonaro’s pre-campaign team, reportedly condemned de Moraes’ new restriction as “illegal and unconstitutional.” Reinaldet argued that suspending Flávio’s visitation rights violates rights enshrined in Brazilian penal law, such as a convict’s right to contact relatives and the outside world, while also preventing the senator from engaging as a lawyer for his father.
Jovem Pan reported that, during Monday’s broadcast, Flávio Bolsonaro affirmed that there is currently a “difference of treatment” between what his father is going through and what was experienced by President Lula da Silva during the time Lula was imprisoned on corruption charges. Lula was convicted and sentenced in 2019 to over two decades in prison for corruption he allegedly engaged in while president. The STF, however, overturned Lula’s conviction on procedural grounds, which allowed Lula to run against Jair Bolsonaro in 2022.
Speaking with Jovem Pan on Monday, Valdemar Costa Neto, the President of Jair Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party (PL), affirmed that “a prisoner can write a letter.” The outlet pointed out that Lula was able to send letters during the time he spent imprisoned — including a letter in September 2018 in which Lula gave his endorsement to current Finance Minister Fernando Haddad, who ran against Bolsonaro in that year’s presidential election.
According to Jovem Pan, the STF did not impose a social media ban on Lula at the time, nor did it prohibit him from writing letters during his imprisonment.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.