Brazil's Bolsonaro releases ministers in move to bolster re-election bid

FILE PHOTO: Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro looks on during a welcoming ceremony to receive Brazilians and foreigners evacuated from Ukraine during a repatriation mission, at Brasilia Air Base, in Brasilia, Brazil March 10, 2022. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Thursday relieved nine ministers in a formality that will pave the way for them to run in the country's Oct. 2 general elections and possibly bolster the far-right leader's struggling re-election campaign.

The list of names, released in the official government gazette on Thursday, includes heavy-hitters such as Agriculture Minister Tereza Cristina Dias, Infrastructure Minister Tarcisio Freitas and Labor Minister Onyx Lorenzoni.