Os anos Bolsonaro

The purpose of this article is to summarize the unexpected path of former congressman Jair Messias Bolsonaro to Brazilian Presidency. Having passed unharmed through the social and political turmoil occurred in the country as from 2013, especially the huge street protests of that year, the Lava Jato criminal investigation (Operação Lava Jato) and President Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment, Bolsonaro was able to captivate part of the population with his (i) uncivilized (or praised as sincere) language, (ii) rude (or praised as spontaneous) behaviour and (iii) stated aversion to minority rights and the political system (of which he had been part for almost thirty years). Bolsonaro was also able to attract specific groups of Brazilian society, such as evangelicals, neoliberals, and the agribusiness, which definitively paved his way to Brazilian Presidency. Once in office, Bolsonaro worked to undermine state policies and institutions, which is illustrated in the following by his actions against (i) certain institutions, as the Federal Supreme Court, (ii) the administrative state, as in his Covid-19 negationist policy, and (iii) legality, as in his obsessive gun policy. Surprisingly, though, he was, and still is, supported by large groups of voters, as his narrow (50,9% X 49,1%) defeat against Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the second-round of 2022 presidential elections has shown. Bolsonaro may correctly be viewed both as a disruptive occurence in Brazilian political system, resulting from the extraordinary elements of the 2013-2018 period, and as part of a worldwide populist movement. One should not ignore, however, that his messages and his behaviour are fundamentally another chapter of a long-standing history of authoritarian governments in Brazil.