Senator Flávio Bolsonaro criticized the prison regime imposed on his father, Jair Bolsonaro, questioning until when Minister Alexandre de Moraes will have authority to practice what he calls torture. In a column, journalist Elio Gaspari rebutted the accusation, stating that Flávio does not understand the concept of torture and suggesting he consult survivors of the DOI during the military dictatorship. The same text mentions a parade by Jair Bolsonaro in Brasília as mere theatrics.
Senator Flávio Bolsonaro expressed outrage over the prison conditions of his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, in a recent statement. He questioned: "Until when will Moraes have power to practice torture?", referring to Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.
In response, journalist Elio Gaspari, author of books on Brazil's military regime, wrote in his Folha de S.Paulo column that Flávio "doesn't understand anything about torture". Gaspari recommended that the senator consult hundreds of survivors of the Destacamento de Operações de Informações (DOI), a repression center during the 1964-1985 military dictatorship.
Gaspari also described an episode on Thursday, January 1, 2026, when Jair Bolsonaro paraded through Brasília's avenues with a Police Military motorcycle escort. According to the columnist, the former president felt a "return to the good times of the Presidency", but it was just a "papagaiada", meaning a clownish show without substance.
Additionally, the column touched on other political matters, such as São Paulo Governor Tarcísio de Freitas's willingness to seek re-election at the end of 2025, with strong chances of success. Gaspari's text, published on January 3, 2026, adopts a critical tone toward the Bolsonaro family, contextualizing the statements within Brazil's history of human rights violations.
