By Luciana Magalhaes
SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Michelle Bolsonaro is waving off speculation that she is ready to run for office in place of her husband, former right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, after he was sentenced to 27 years in prison over a failed plot to overturn the 2022 election.
“I may run for something or I may run for nothing. Right now, I have no plans of running, despite what some people are saying,” she told Reuters in a rare written interview.
The wife of the former army captain, who has been under house arrest for two months, said their routine has been deeply disrupted by the Supreme Court’s precautionary measures, leaving him “unplugged” and weaker, requiring more of her attention.
“Together, these measures have reduced his immunity and worsened his health, requiring more dedication on my part to his recovery process,” she said, noting her concerns that his condition could deteriorate in prison.
Like many of the ex-president’s allies, Michelle Bolsonaro is calling for a pardon of her husband and others convicted of plotting a coup, although that push has lost steam in Congress as polls and protests show many Brazilians are skeptical.
The 43-year-old former first lady, who has advocated for religious and conservative values, often appears in polls as the ex-president’s most popular relative, ahead of his sons from a prior marriage who are federal lawmakers.
She said any eventual decision about running for office would require “the well-being and integrity” of her family, “mutual agreement” with her husband and “above all, the manifestation of God’s Will in my life.”
She also criticized growing calls to name a successor for her husband in the 2026 presidential race.
She also rejected speculation that she could be a running mate for Sao Paulo Governor Tarcisio de Freitas if he launches a presidential bid as many of the ex-president’s allies suggest.
“I have never discussed electoral matters with Governor Tarcisio. The biggest name in the Brazilian right is my husband, Jair Bolsonaro,” she said.
Her account of life under federal surveillance also echoed what her husband called in a Reuters interview in July the “humiliation” of being forced to wear an ankle monitor.
“You can’t say everything is fine when, for example, the car that takes my daughter to school is searched every time she leaves or returns home,” she said. “I have been striving to ensure she doesn’t suffer even more amid so many humiliations.”
(Reporting by Luciana MagalhaesEditing by Brad Haynes and Alistair Bell)
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