#Bolsonaro #Brazils #polarizing #farright #president
Four years after he stormed in to shake up a Brazil disgusted with politics as usual, far-right President Jair Bolsonaro is finding it increasingly difficult to portray himself as an outsider, but remains as spiteful and divisive as ever.
The 67-year-old incumbent is scheduled to officially launch his re-election bid Tuesday from the place that has cemented it in the minds of die-hard supporters as “The Myth”: the small southeastern town of Juiz de Fora.
There, an assailant stabbed Bolsonaro in the abdomen at a rally for his 2018 election campaign, nearly killing the former army captain-turned-congressman.
Bolsonaro, known for a brash, divisive style that earned him the nickname “Tropical Trump,” had risen to prominence on the campaign trail this year, playing to voters riveted by Brazil’s economic implosion and massive “Car Wash” corruption scandal were disgusted.
Surviving the stabbing attack – perpetrated by an assailant who was later declared mentally unfit to stand trial – only stoked supporters’ belief in their “Messiah” or “Messiah” – Bolsonaro’s middle name.
But the president’s aura of invincibility has faded as he enters the home stretch of his term, which has seen the economy sputter, his popularity wane and ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (2003-2010), his leftist nemesis , leading polls for the October elections.
– Hard talker –
Bolsonaro won the 2018 presidency with broad support from business community, voters fed up with corruption, and the powerful “Beef, Bullets and Bibles” caucus — the farm lobby, security hardliners, and evangelical Christians.
Supporters love his uncompromising style, anti-establishment message and down-to-earth touch on social media, where his movement thrives.
But he infuriates critics with his divisive sharpness and contempt for political correctness, often drawing accusations of racism, sexism and homophobia.
And his mainstream and business support has been severely eroded as his government has stumbled through various crises.
Bolsonaro persistently downplayed Covid-19, defying expert advice on how to combat it, and derided face masks, social distancing and vaccines, warning the latter could “turn you into an alligator” – even as the death toll in Brazil became one of the highest in the world, with more than 680,000 second only to the United States.
Bolsonaro is facing an international outcry over the destruction of the Amazon rainforest, which has increased under his watch, fueled by the encroachment of cattle ranches into the jungle.
He also faces dozens of impeachment petitions and a string of corruption scandals involving his close circle.
He is banking on big new welfare benefits introduced this month to bolster his support for low-income voters – but has faced accusations of economic populism and fueling already-rising inflation.
– ‘Prison, Death or Victory’ –
Born in 1955 to a Catholic family of Italian descent, Bolsonaro served as an army paratrooper before beginning his political career as a Rio de Janeiro city councilor in 1988.
Two years later, he was elected to the lower house of Congress, where he served until his election as president.
With his statements, he sparked one explosive controversy after another.
In 2011, he told Playboy magazine he would rather have his sons killed in an accident than come out as gay.
In 2014 he made headlines when he said a left-wing MP was “not worth raping” because she was “too ugly”.
He is openly nostalgic for Brazil’s 1964-1985 military dictatorship, whose “fault,” he said in 2016, “was torturing, not killing, left-wing dissidents.”
Bolsonaro has developed a close relationship with the army’s top officials, picking General Walter Souza Braga Netto, his former defense minister and chief of staff, as his running mate.
Many Brazilians fear that if Bolsonaro loses, he could try to fight the election result and follow in the footsteps of his political role model, former US President Donald Trump.
Bolsonaro regularly rails against Brazil’s electronic voting machines, claiming – without any evidence – that they are riddled with fraud.
He has indicated he will not leave the presidency without a fight, saying his re-election bid can only have three outcomes: “prison, death or victory.”
Bolsonaro has four sons – three of them politicians – and, in a moment of “weakness,” as he called it, a daughter.
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