Bolsonaro Returns to Brazil

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Facts

• Former Brazilian Pres. Jair Bolsonaro on Thursday arrived in Brasília, ending three months in Orlando, Fla., after being defeated in last year's tense presidential election that tested the stability of the country's democracy.¹
• Welcomed back by hundreds of supporters at the airport, Bolsonaro is expected to lead his conservative Liberal Party (PL) into municipal elections next year, traveling around the country to preach PL's values in preparation for the 2026 elections.²
• Before boarding his flight in Florida, however, he played down his chances of leading the opposition to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's government, stating, 'the government is an opposition in itself.'³
• Bolsonaro, who lost the October 2022 election to Lula by a narrow margin, left Brazil days before he was to hand over power to Lula. On Jan. 8, some of his supporters stormed government buildings in the capital in protest of the new president.⁴
• The former leader faces several legal probes, including into his alleged role in encouraging his supporters in the Jan. 8 riots as well as into his highly controversial claims that Brazil’s electronic-voting system is liable to fraud.⁵
• On Wednesday, federal police summoned Bolsonaro to testify on April 5 in the Saudi jewels case, in which he faces allegations of trying to illegally import and keep millions of dollars worth of jewelry given to him and his wife in 2019.⁶

Sources: ¹New York Times, ²Reuters, ³Axios, ⁴ABC News, ⁵Al Jazeera and ⁶BBC News.

Narratives

• Left narrative, as provided by Washington Post. Bolsonaro is facing a score of investigations in Brazil, and his return will only cause chaos in an already vulnerable country. With Bolsonaro back at the forefront of the Liberal Party, the far-right could be incentivized to take extreme actions, especially if he gets arrested or disqualified from running again for office. Meanwhile, even some of his supporters are skeptical about the defeated leader's ability to make a political comeback.
• Right narrative, as provided by Breitbart. Those who believe Bolsonaro is some evil dictator should think about the fact that his successor — a socialist convicted felon who believes in stripping people of their rights to defend themselves and speak freely — is the one calling for his prosecution. Bolsonaro understands the grievances of patriotic citizens throughout the Americas, which is why the media and his foes have desperately tried to smear him ever since he first took office.