The former president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, celebrated his first month in the United States yesterday, honored by some 600 followers, in a restaurant in Orlando (Florida), where he reiterated his intention to return to Brazilian politics and openly questioned the result of the elections held. in October. “Many people are still shocked by what happened in the elections. In the end, we are left with a question mark in our heads, ”he said before a small representation of the Brazilian diaspora, displaced from different parts of the country, and convened by the ultra-conservative organization Yes Brazil USA.
“I have never been so popular. Last year was much better than in 2018 (when he won the elections),” said the former president in his first public appearance in a month, in a formulation nailed to what Donald Trump did on Saturday, who also abandoned the low profile in his first act of campaign Just three months ago, Bolsonaro lost to the leftist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva by a narrow margin of 1.8 points, but he never acknowledged the electoral result and fled Brazil for Florida on December 30, two days before he took office. successor. In this way, he avoided the formal act of transfer of power, although he implicitly gave up command with his departure from the country.
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Nine days later, thousands of euphoric Bolsonaro supporters stormed the country’s main federal buildings – the Planalto Palace, Congress and the Federal Supreme Court (STF) – in a mobilization reminiscent of the assault on the US Capitol, led by Trumpists two years earlier. . Unlike Trump, Bolsonaro distanced himself from the attack and firmly condemned it at the time, something he insisted on on Tuesday: “I am sorry for what some inconsistent people did on January 8. That is not our right, that is not our people”.
However, his statements come after an STF judge has decided to include him in the investigation that will determine who was responsible for the assault on institutions in the capital, Brasilia. The magistrate’s evidence included a video posted by Bolsonaro on social networks where he openly questions the result of the October elections. As he alleges, this speech harangued his followers, enraged by Lula’s victory in a climate of extreme polarization, which led to an attempted coup.
Bolsonaro promises to continue in politics
The former president, who has moved away from the spotlight in the last month, said he had “saudade” (nostalgia) for Brazil and showed his staunch supporters his intention to continue being involved in the country’s political life. “I am 67 years old and I intend to remain active in Brazilian politics”, he promised before his faithful, many of them dressed in the Canarinha (the shirt of the soccer team), “we cannot abandon politics”.
In addition, he referred to this Wednesday as a “very important” day, since the inauguration of the new legislature will take place, also arising from the October elections. The president-elect, Lula, will have a difficult time pushing through his progressive laws due to the conservative nature of the new courts. Prior to the start of the new legislative course, the president has made some concessions to the center parties and the more moderate right, with the aim of minimizing the influence of the Liberal Party (PL), led by Bolsonaro.
To this end, he has included in his government senior cadres from these parties, such as the Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB), the Brazil Union (UB) or the Social Democratic Party (PSD). In this way, although his capacity for action will be limited, the support of the two legislative chambers will be ensured in some less ambitious laws. Bolsonaro referred yesterday to this move by Lula, which he hopes to counter: “We hope to bring people to our side, Brazil is a fantastic country.”
For its part, the PL is currently divided, since some of its leaders justified the assault on the federal buildings on the 8th, while the majority condemned them, like Bolsonaro himself, although without great firmness. He did it from Orlando and through his social networks: “Peaceful demonstrations, in accordance with the law, are part of democracy. However, the depredations and invasions of public buildings such as those that occurred today, as well as those practiced by the left in 2013 and 2017, are beyond the rule.” He referred to the popular protests after the dismissal of Dilma Rousseff, when some demonstrators came to walk on the roof of the Congress.
– Peaceful demonstrations, in the form of the law, are part of democracy. Contudo, depredations and invasions of public property as occurred this day, as well as those practiced by the left in 2013 and 2017, fogem à regra.
— Jair M. Bolsonaro (@jairbolsonaro) January 9, 2023
Six more months in the US
This Tuesday the news broke, advanced by CNN and confirmed by the former president’s lawyers, that Bolsonaro has requested a six-month tourist visa to continue in the US. As confirmed by lawyer Felipe Alexandre to EFE, the former president entered the country with the A-1 visa, addressed to heads of state, a document that expired on Tuesday, and Alexandre assures that he submitted the application in advance to change it for another immigration status. .
“I think Florida will be his temporary home away from home. Right now, with his situation, I think he needs a bit of stability,” Alexandre told Financial Times. Earlier this month, a group of Democratic representatives in Congress signed a letter urging the administration of US President Joe Biden to revoke Bolsonaro’s visa. “We must not allow Mr. Bolsonaro or any other former Brazilian official to take refuge in the United States to escape justice for any crimes they may have committed while in office,” said the letter, which opened the debate on the unlikely option. of the US moving forward with a deportation.
