Flávio Bolsonaro, a senator and the Liberal Party (PL) candidate for president of Brazil, recorded a video supporting Eduardo Cunha, a former speaker of the lower house who is running for federal deputy in the state of Minas Gerais. The recording was posted on social media on Wednesday (26) and shared by Cunha on Instagram, according to Folha de S.Paulo and Metrópoles.
In the video, Flávio Bolsonaro says Cunha played an important role in the country's history by leading, as speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, the impeachment proceedings against former president Dilma Rousseff of the Workers' Party (PT).
"He was the one who opened the eyes of the Brazilian population and brought Dilma down, perhaps the worst president this country has had in its history and, thank God, Brazil reacted and reacted in time," Flávio said, as transcribed by Metrópoles.
Cunha thanked him for the support and said he is campaigning for Flávio in Minas Gerais and across the country, even though his party, Republicanos, decided to stay neutral in the presidential race. "I am supporting Flávio Bolsonaro, my party, Republicanos, is neutral, but I am supporting Flávio Bolsonaro," the former deputy said in the video.
From running the impeachment to losing his seat
As speaker, Cunha accepted the impeachment request against Rousseff in December 2015. The Chamber authorized the proceedings in April 2016, and the Senate removed her permanently on August 31 of that year, Folha reports. On September 12, 2016, the floor voted 450 to 10 to strip Cunha of his mandate, after he was accused of lying to the Petrobras congressional inquiry when he denied holding bank accounts abroad. Documents handed over by Swiss prosecutors proved the accounts existed, according to Metrópoles. At the time, Cunha said he was the target of political persecution.
Also in 2016, Cunha was arrested as part of the Car Wash corruption investigation, known as Lava Jato, accused of taking bribes in Petrobras contracts. He was sentenced to almost 16 years in prison, but his convictions were annulled in 2021 and 2023. In 2022, he ran for state deputy in São Paulo for the PTB party and lost, Metrópoles reported.
His candidacy in Minas Gerais, Brazil's second-largest electorate, is Cunha's attempt to return to the Chamber of Deputies ten years after being ousted. The race will be decided at the ballot box in the October general election, when voters in the state choose their federal deputies.