Flávio Bolsonaro's plan: Tough on crime, closer to U.S.

Flávio Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, has unveiled his presidential campaign platform, emphasizing a hardline approach to crime and a strategic pivot towards closer relations with the United States. The 76-page document, branded 'For Brazil to Overcome Backwardness,' details a nine-point plan aimed at national recovery through public service restructuring, fiscal discipline, and a toughened penal code.

In foreign policy, Bolsonaro's plan advocates for rebuilding ties with key allies such as the United States, Israel, and Argentina, while maintaining pragmatic trade relations with global players like China and the European Union. The strategy, described as 'sovereignty with professionalism, not ideology,' prioritizes mutual trade benefits over ideological alignment. The plan also signals an intent to rejoin the OECD and pursue trade liberalization to enhance the competitiveness of Brazilian industries through access to imported capital goods and technology.

The proposed judicial reforms target the Supreme Court, which the plan states has accumulated an excessive number of functions compared to similar international bodies. Measures include stripping the court of its power to try parliamentarians, who would instead face lower courts, and imposing a one-year cooling-off period for government ministers before they can be nominated to the high court. This aims to re-establish a balance of powers.

On security, a cornerstone of Bolsonaro's platform, the plan calls for classifying criminal organizations like the First Capital Command (PCC) and Red Command as 'narco-terrorist organizations.' Proposed measures include lowering the age of criminal responsibility from 18 to 16, imposing sanctions for serious offenses from age 14, implementing chemical castration for child molesters, and constructing five maximum-security federal prisons modeled after El Salvador's system. Economically, the platform promises spending cuts, tax reductions, and a selective review of the National Privatization Program, evaluating state-owned enterprises on a case-by-case basis where state involvement is deemed unnecessary.

Environmentally, Bolsonaro pledged to end illegal deforestation by 2029, a commitment mirroring that of current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.