SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro would not be able to control how his supporters react, his son said when asked if Brazil could see the equivalent of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol if election results in October are disputed.
The comments by Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, who is running his father’s re-election campaign, in a newspaper interview on Thursday are unlikely to ease mounting global concerns about the presidential election.
Bolsonaro, a far-right former army captain, trails leftist former President Luiz Inacio da Silva in the polls and has repeatedly floated the idea that he may not accept any result in which he loses.
In the O Estado de S. Paulo interview, Flavio Bolsonaro was asked whether Brazil could see a repeat of the Jan. 6 riots, when supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump attacked the U.S. Capitol.
Flavio Bolsonaro said his father, who idolizes Trump, would never tell his supporters what actions to take, but said he would not be able to control their reactions.
“How can we control it?” he was quoted as saying. “In my view, Trump didn’t send anyone there (to attack the Capitol). People saw problems in the U.S. electoral system, were outraged and did what they did.
“There was no command from the president, and President Bolsonaro will never do such a thing,” he added.
Flavio did not say whether his father – who has repeatedly made claims of election fraud without providing any evidence – would accept the election results if he loses.
“The president is just calling for a safe and transparent election,” he said.
Flavio Bolsonaro’s Senate office did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
This week’s testimony at congressional hearings on the deadly U.S. Capitol assault portrayed an enraged Trump throwing food against a White House wall, voicing support for threats against his vice president and dismissing the news that some of his supporters, claiming a rigged 2020 election, had come armed with rifles.
(Reporting by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Nick Macfie)
