A weekend-duty judge in Bahia authorized the Salvador City Council to proceed with a ceremony granting honorary citizenship to Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL), a presidential candidate, overturning an injunction that had blocked the event on electoral grounds.
Judge Marielza Maués Pinheiro Lima, presiding over the weekend court shift, ruled on Saturday that the honor and the temporary relocation of the council session to the Farol da Barra — a prominent seaside landmark — had been properly approved by the council plenary, following committee opinions and the body's internal rules. The decision also voided a 500,000-real (roughly USD 90,000 at recent rates, approximate conversion) fine that had been threatened if the ceremony took place before the second round of the presidential election.
The original injunction was issued by Judge Carla Graziela Costantino de Araújo of the 5th Public Treasury Court, acting on a lawsuit filed by Maria Lúcia Andrade da Silva. That ruling had ordered any official decoration ceremony postponed until after the runoff, arguing that holding the event and moving the council's seat to a tourist site could interfere with the election and give the ceremony a promotional or partisan character.
The appeal was initially filed by Councilman Cézar Leite (PL), an ally of the Bolsonaro family, and was later formally assumed by the City Council itself. Flávio Bolsonaro, the eldest son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, serves as a senator for Rio de Janeiro and is running for president in the 2026 election.
The ceremony was expected to take place later on Saturday.