Brazil’s Flavio Bolsonaro names Alfredo Gaspar as running mate

The announcement comes as Lula warns of foreign interference and polls show a tightening presidential race.Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro has named conservative Congressman Alfredo Gaspar as his running mate, ending weeks of speculation over who would join his presidential ticket in October’s election against incumbent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.The announcement on Wednesday also highlighted the challenges facing Bolsonaro’s campaign, which has struggled to build alliances beyond his own Liberal Party and failed in an effort to recruit a woman to the ticket in hopes of broadening its appeal.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4US tariffs ‘strengthen’ Lula against Bolsonaro’s son in upcoming electionslist 2 of 4Flavio Bolsonaro launches Brazil presidential bid with Milei supportlist 3 of 4Brazil’s Lula launches fourth-term bid, focuses on national sovereigntylist 4 of 4US revokes visa of Brazilian ambassador amid deepening diplomatic spatend of listGaspar, 55, has represented the northeastern state of Alagoas in Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies since 2023 and served as its public security secretary.Accepting the nomination, he described himself as “a simple person from the northeast” whose life had been defined by “hard work and honour”, saying he would work alongside Bolsonaro “to transform Brazil into a fair and decent place”.Gaspar led a congressional investigation into Brazil’s National Social Security Institute (INSS), the agency that oversees the country’s public pension and social security system. Fabio Luis Lula da Silva, the president’s son, is under investigation over allegations that he received improper payments linked to an alleged pension fraud scheme involving that agency.Political analyst Lucas de Aragao, a partner at consultancy Arko Advice, said the choice was surprising but gave Bolsonaro someone well-placed to attack Lula on an issue that has become politically sensitive.“He has the authority to deal with an issue that is uncomfortable for Lula. He also speaks extensively about public security,” Aragao said.