Jair Bolsonaro returns to Brasilia early this Thursday March 30 after a three-month stay in the United States, determined to play a major political role in Lula’s Brazil, which narrowly defeated him in the October presidential election. The far-right ex-president, the subject of a long series of investigations, exposes himself on returning to his country to legal proceedings and ineligibility as well as possible imprisonment.
Bolsonaro, head of state from 2019 to 2022, is due to arrive in Brasilia at 7:10 a.m. (noon in France), on a commercial flight from Orlando, Florida, his Liberal Party (PL) has announced. . He had left Brazil on December 30, even before the end of his term, boycotting the investiture ceremony of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, to whom he should have passed the presidential sash, according to protocol.
“I’m not going to lead the opposition in any way, I’m going to participate [à la vie politique] of my party, bringing my experience”he told the CNN Brazil channel on Wednesday evening at the Orlando airport, before taking the plane.
At 68 and after a defeat of less than two million votes which had plunged him into silence or even depression, Bolsonaro had declared last week his intention to “travel the country”et “to do politics” to defend ultra-conservative values in Brazil.
This return is greeted with nervousness in Brasilia where the Military Police will ensure that no gathering takes place. She “will be ready to quickly close access to the Esplanade des Trois-pouvoirs [au cœur de la capitale, NDLR] like at the airport”said Sandro Alevar, Brasilia’s public security secretary, at a press conference on Wednesday.
But the day could be tense, Bolsonaro supporters having been called on social networks to welcome him in large numbers at the airport, even if he is not expected to address them. The deputy of the PL Gustavo Gayer thus called for “solid support” at the airport for “pave the way for Bolsonaro’s return to the presidency”.
Bad sequence for Lula
On the political plan, “Lula will now have to govern with an organized opposition, it could make a big difference”advanced for AFP Jairo Nicolau, political scientist at the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV).
As soon as he arrives, Bolsonaro must go to the premises of the PL, under escort of Military Police vehicles, like any ex-president. He must be welcomed there by Valdemar Costa Netto, the leader of this party under whose colors he had presented himself for the presidency, and by deputies, allied senators and former ministers.
The Liberal Party, which confirmed to AFP that Bolsonaro, by becoming its honorary president, would receive monthly stipends of nearly 7,000 euros, made great publicity around the arrival of the ex-chief of state.
Bolsonaro’s return to Brazil comes as President Lula is going through a streak deemed bad by analysts, less than three months after taking office. After contracting pneumonia, he had to postpone this week a state visit to China on which his advisers were counting to restore his image following various controversies and untimely statements.
After the premises of the PL, Bolsonaro must go to his future residence, in a very protected residential complex in the Jardim Botanico district of Brasilia, with his wife Michelle. This fervent evangelical, only 41 years old, has just taken the helm of the women’s branch of the PL and could possibly run for the presidency in 2026.
Legal troubles
Bolsonaro is in the middle of a controversy over luxury jewelry, worth several million euros, received from Saudi Arabia that he would have brought illegally into Brazil. He just returned part of it.
But he is above all in the crosshairs of justice for several cases and has lost his immunity. Jair Bolsonaro is notably under five investigations at the Supreme Court in cases that could earn him prison sentences.
The most recent concerns his role in the riots of January 8 against the places of power in Brasilia, ransacked by thousands of his supporters. The other four relate to alleged offenses during his mandate: disinformation on the electronic ballot box system or on the Covid.
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Jair Bolsonaro is also the subject of no less than 16 investigations at the Superior Electoral Court (TSE). He could be sentenced to eight years of ineligibility, which would prevent him from running for president in 2026.
