Brazil: Flavio Bolsonaro's about-face on imprisoned banker shakes the right wing ahead of the presidential election

Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro has found himself at the center of a new controversy after admitting to communicating with an imprisoned banker whom he had claimed not to know just weeks earlier. This affair weakens the conservative camp as Brazil's presidential election approaches in October.

Allies of Flavio Bolsonaro told Reuters they were surprised by the release of a voicemail message published by The Intercept Brasil. In the recording, the eldest son of former president Jair Bolsonaro asks Daniel Vorcaro, head of the bankrupt Banco Master bank, to resume financing a film about his father.

Until March, Flavio Bolsonaro denied any connection with the banker, who has become a central figure in the financial scandal currently rocking Brasilia. Just last week, he attempted to politically link the Banco Master affair to leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva during a public event.

After the release of the voicemail, the senator finally acknowledged meeting with Daniel Vorcaro in December 2024. He claimed their discussions concerned a stalled financing contract and presented the matter as a mere attempt to find private investors for a film about his father's story.

Within the right-wing Liberal Party, several of Bolsonaro's close associates now acknowledge that a lack of transparency has worsened the situation. Some allies are trying to downplay the links between the senator and the banker to prevent the scandal from escalating further just months before the election.

The affair has also caused turbulence in Brazilian financial markets. Analysts believe this controversy could weaken Bolsonaro's campaign and strengthen Lula's chances of re-election, while political uncertainty continues to weigh on the country's economy.