Keeping Up with the Bolsonaros

Last year, Brazil elected Jair Bolsonaro as its head of state. With a platform tough on crime, and Donald Trump-esque promises to drain the swamp of Brazilian politics, he received over 57 million votes. However, after less than two months in office, it is clear that the country did not just elect Jair Bolsonaro, it elected the entire Bolsonaro family.

The president’s three oldest sons, all elected officials at different levels of government, have taken on hugely influential roles within the administration. None are actual members of the cabinet, though they appear to have more power than many of the president’s ministers.

The central role of the “Bolso-kids” has bothered the Brazilian political class. Even Jair Bolsonaro’s allies have called upon him to keep his boys in check, as the early crises of the government have predominantly revolved around the president’s sons.

Carlos, The Pitbull

Of Jair Bolsonaro’s three sons from his first marriage, 36-year-old Carlos is the middle child. And of the trio, he is by far the closest to his father. Dubbed the president’s “02” (zero-two, due to their proximity and the fact Carlos is his second child), Carlos Bolsonaro was given the rare honor of sitting in the backseat of the open-top state car during his father’s inauguration. Rumor has it that Carlos had had a bad dream the night before, so was placated with a spot in the ceremony.

Carlos was the first of Jair Bolsonaro’s offspring to go into politics, but it wasn’t exactly his choice. The president had a severe falling out with his ex-wife (and Carlos’ mother) Rogéria Nantes Bolsonaro. As an act of revenge, he orchestrated the candidacy of a 17-year-old Carlos Bolsonaro to run against his own mother for a seat as a Rio de Janeiro city councilor. As Carlos was a high-school student at the time and still a minor, in order to run for office, Jair Bolsonaro had to emancipate his own son, which he did.