A coup-friendly leader

Jair Bolsonaro’s big mouth is perhaps his worst enemy. 

During this period, Mr. Bolsonaro became known as a president that harbored putschist desires. Aside from the fact that he was an apologist for Brazil’s military dictatorship (and others), the ex-head of state was always delivering inflammatory speeches to his supporters that posed a threat to Brazilian democracy. 

He always pushed the rhetoric to the limit, with metaphors suggesting that the “rope” of democracy was “stretched” to its limit. His fans, who weren’t shy about demanding military intervention in Brazil, felt that the president thought like they did. 

Things would get ugly for Jair after he (reluctantly) left office in 2022. Although he never properly acknowledged Lula’s election victory, he was no longer president in January 2023, a position that would put him under immense pressure as he could be prosecuted without immunity. 

However, despite the risks and concrete investigations launched against him since he left the presidency, Bolsonaro could not keep his mouth shut. The latest example occurred in February this year, during a rally of his supporters in São Paulo. 

In front of passionate Bolsonaristas, their supreme leader made remarks that contradicted his previous statements about not knowing about a draft putschist decree to be carried out after losing the election 2022. In fact, he even mentioned that some actions had not been taken, which is very different from simply denying knowledge. 

For some authorities, including Supreme Court Justice Gilmar Mendes, these statements “seemed” like a confession to a coup plot and could strengthen the arguments of those who want to see the former president behind bars. Once again, no one but Jair Bolsonaro is responsible for putting Jair Bolsonaro in a tight spot. 

Check out the creation of this cartoon on The Brazilian Report’s TikTok account (@brazilianreport).

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