BRASILIA - President Jair Bolsonaro said
on Tuesday he would rather his son Eduardo stayed in Brazil to
deal with a crisis in the government's right-wing Social Liberal
Party (PSL) instead of becoming Brazil's ambassador in
Washington.
"Obviously this will have to be decided in the coming days,
perhaps before I return to Brazil, whether he wants his name
submitted to the Senate for the embassy or not," Bolsonaro told
reporters in Tokyo where he is on an official visit.
"In my opinion, (the best) is that he stays in Brazil... to
pacify his party and pick up the pieces so to speak," President
Bolsonaro said.
His son's name has yet to be submitted to the Senate for
approval as ambassador to Washington and a recent political
storm surrounding the PSL has likely reduced his chances of
being confirmed.
Bolsonaro said he would consider appointing Nestor Foster,
currently Brazil's charge d'affaires in Washington, in place of
Eduardo.
The president's remarks come after his son took over the
leadership of the PSL in the lower house of Congress on Monday
in a bruising struggle for control of the party.
The struggle stems from an increasing rift between PSL
founder Luciano Bivar and president Bolsonaro, who used the
previously small party as the platform for his presidential
campaign and helped transform it into the second largest in the
Brazilian Congress.
The battle for control is not over yet.
The national leadership of the PSL met on Tuesday at the
party's headquarters to discuss the suspension of around two
dozen lawmakers who backed the overthrow of Delegado Waldir as
party house whip, including Eduardo Bolsonaro. If suspended they
could lose their seats in Congress.
The Brazilian president had said he would appoint his son to
the U.S. embassy in early July, a day after Eduardo turned 35 -
the minimum age for the job.
However, although the U.S. government has already given the
"agreement" - a kind of acceptance from the host country -
Eduardo's name has still not been submitted to the Senate for
approval due to a lack of support to guarantee his confirmation.