Exclusive
Manila’s EV ambitions confront economic and energy realities Manila’s EV ambitions confront economic and energy realities Tunisian court dismisses case to dissolve publisher of ICIJ partner Inkyfada Tunisian court dismisses case to dissolve publisher of ICIJ partner Inkyfada Prabowo Faces Growing Discontent as Jokowi Revives His Political Ambitions Prabowo Faces Growing Discontent as Jokowi Revives His Political Ambitions
Current Affairs

Jailed banker ties roil Flavio Bolsonaro’s Brazil presidential hopes

Brazil’s right-wing presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro was riding high in the polls until the news broke of his ties to a banker jailed over a…

By Samantha Johnson / May 21, 2026

Brazil’s right-wing presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro was riding high in the polls until the news broke of his ties to a banker jailed over a multimillion-dollar fraud scandal.

The 45-year-old senator had been polling neck-and-neck with 80-year-old President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is expected to seek a fourth term in presidential elections in October.

But a change may be under way following the publication of an audio recording by investigative outlet The Intercept in which Bolsonaro asked disgraced banker Daniel Vorcaro to finance a film he was making about his father, former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro.

Advertisement

Polls had projected a Bolsonaro-Lula tie in the second round, giving a slight advantage to the right-wing hopeful.

Now, his ratings appear to have dwindled, with one poll putting the right-wing candidate seven points behind leftist Lula.

Advertisement

Vorcaro was the major shareholder in the small private Master Bank that collapsed last year, sparking a major fraud investigation that has rattled the highest echelons of power in Latin America’s largest economy.

Don't Miss: