Brazil's Union Brazil party faces internal clash over Mato Grosso Senate race

Former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro said Senator Flávio Bolsonaro humiliated her and filed a gender‑based political violence complaint, exposing a rift within the Liberal Party (PL) and its affiliate Union Brazil in Ceará and Mato Grosso. The dispute escalated as Union Brazil leaders in Mato Grosso scheduled the state convention for 4 August, the last day allowed by the electoral calendar, a timing criticized by some as a tactic to limit rival candidacies.

In Mato Grosso, Senator Jayme Campos seeks a Senate bid while other party figures, including ex‑governor Mauro Mendes, back Governor Otaviano Pivetta’s re‑election. Michelly Alencar, a Union Brazil deputy, said late‑stage conventions are a routine party practice and denied any intent to weaken Campos’s pre‑candidacy. The internal disagreement highlights competing strategies within the party ahead of the 2024 elections.