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Listen to the article3 min, read by a synthetic voice

In brief

  • Moraes authorised Senator Flávio Bolsonaro to visit Jair Bolsonaro on Monday, 12 October, after the 90-day suspension expired on Sunday, 11 October.

  • Visits may not serve political or electoral purposes, and the former president's statements may not be disseminated, including through third parties.

  • In July, Flávio read a letter from his father on social media, breaching a social-media ban attached to the 24 March 2026 house arrest order.

  • Flávio won 47% in the first round against Lula's 45% and goes into the runoff on 25 October as the favourite, according to Frankfurter Allgemeine.

Photo: Agência Senado from Brasilia, Brazil, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons, cropped)
How it came to this
  1. 11 OctThe 90-day suspension period expires
  2. 12 OctMoraes authorises the resumption of visits
  3. 25 OctPresidential runoff between Flávio Bolsonaro and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

Court grants visits

Brazil's Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes has authorised Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, the presidential candidate, to visit his father, former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving 27 years and three months under house arrest. The decision, published on Monday, 12 October, accepts a request from the defence filed on 5 October. Visits may resume on the same schedule, under the same conditions and security measures as before. The 90-day suspension expired on Sunday, 11 October, and a Prosecutor General's Office (PGR) opinion cited in the decision found no reason to extend it.

In the decision, Moraes wrote that the suspension period had run its full course:

“The sanctioning period of suspension of visits, due to non-compliance with a judicial condition set for serving the humanitarian house arrest, has ended, completing the 90 days set in the judicial decision.”

Alexandre de Moraes, justice of Brazil's Supreme Court

The decision also states that no later event called for an extension.

Why the visits were halted

In July, Flávio read a letter from his father on social media, and the court treated this as a breach of the conditions attached to Jair Bolsonaro's house arrest. Moraes had ordered that house arrest on humanitarian grounds on 24 March 2026, and the order barred the former president from using social networks, directly or through third parties. The letter expressed Jair Bolsonaro's support for his son's presidential candidacy. Sources differ on the start of the suspension: the BBC dates it to 13 July, while Deutsche Welle gives 17 July.

Jair Bolsonaro was convicted in September 2025 of five crimes linked to a plan to stop Lula taking office after winning the 2022 election. He began serving his sentence on 22 November 2025 at the Federal Police in Brasília, was then moved to the Papudinha facility, also in Brasília, and later received house arrest on health grounds.

Conditions on the visits

The decision keeps the existing timetable, conditions and security measures for visits. It also keeps two limits in place: visits may not serve political or electoral purposes, and no statements or messages from the former president may be disseminated, including through third parties and by any means. A prosecutor's filing published on Tuesday, 6 October, found no evidence that the conditions had been broken. The BBC quoted the decision's wording that the visits cannot have a "political-electoral purpose".

Runoff campaign

Flávio Bolsonaro, the Partido Liberal (PL) candidate, finished first in the first round with 47% of the vote, against 45% for the incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The runoff is set for 25 October, two weeks after the court decision, and Frankfurter Allgemeine describes Flávio as the favourite going into it. Jair Bolsonaro has named his eldest son as his political heir, while the former president himself is barred from holding political office until 2030.

First-round vote share, Brazil presidential election%
Flávio Bolsonaro47%
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva45%
Flávio Bolsonaro
47 %
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
45 %

Data from the article text

What comes next

Visits can restart on the restored schedule, and the ban on using them for campaigning remains in force for the runoff.

Next in today’s edition

Zacharia reportedly out as White House press secretary

On Friday, 16 October, Donald Trump said he had urged Katie Zacharia to reconsider her role, while the New York Times reported she had been fired. Her debut briefing had lasted about 14 minutes and followed questions about her legal credentials.

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Sources and context

  • Frankfurter Allgemeineon 12 Oct at 19:47Brasilien-Wahl: Flavio Bolsonaro darf seinen Vater im Hausarrest besuchen
  • Deutsche Welleon 12 Oct at 16:00Juez autoriza a Flávio Bolsonaro para visitar a su padre en prisión
  • Le Figaro.fron 12 Oct at 15:22Brésil : Flávio Bolsonaro autorisé à voir son père Jair, ex-président en résidence surveillée
  • Deutsche Welleon 12 Oct at 15:18Moraes libera visitas de Flávio ao pai Jair Bolsonaro
Alexandre de Moraes
Justice of Brazil's Supreme Court who authorised the resumption of visits
Flávio Bolsonaro
Senator and Partido Liberal presidential candidate in the 25 October runoff
Jair Bolsonaro
Former president serving a 27-year-and-three-month sentence under house arrest
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Incumbent president and Flávio Bolsonaro's rival in the runoff

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Published on 12 Oct at 20:17.

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Text generated by AI from the reports of the publishers listed and checked automatically, with no human editor. How Pollar is made

In this text

Court grants visitsCourt grants visitsWhy the visits were haltedWhy the visits were haltedConditions on the visitsConditions on the visitsRunoff campaignRunoff campaignWhat comes nextWhat comes next

Where

Brasília

Based on reports by

Frankfurter Allgemeine, Deutsche Welle, Le Figaro.fr, Bloomberg Business, ANSA.it, BBC

List of sources

Elections · Brasília

Brazil's Supreme Court lets Flávio Bolsonaro resume visits to his father under house arrest

Justice Alexandre de Moraes ended a 90-day visit ban imposed after Flávio Bolsonaro read a letter from his father on social media. The visits may not be used for campaigning ahead of the 25 October runoff.

Brasília
Brasília · Brazil

Ask about this text

AI text based on reports by Frankfurter Allgemeine, Deutsche Welle, Le Figaro.fr and other publishers. Published on 12 Oct at 20:17.

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