Brazil’s de facto Foreign Minister

“Nuclear bombs guarantee peace,” said Congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro to students of Brazil’s Superior School of War. “It’s like [U.S. President Donald] Trump says: ‘a great nation begins with a great military.'” In isolation, this could be yet another episode of a Brazilian congressman going rogue. And, to be honest, talk about nuclear bombs is hardly among the strangest things Brazil’s Congress has seen—which includes a senator wearing Superman gear, and a congressman blowing up confetti on the stand during proceedings to impeach a president.

But Eduardo Bolsonaro is not just another congressman. Since his father took office as Brazil’s head of state, he has launched his unofficial diplomatic career, shadowing his father on international trips and even setting up his own international meetings. In Brasília, he has become known as the country’s de facto Foreign Minister.

At 34, the lawyer and former federal marshal Eduardo Bolsonaro is serving just his second term in the House of Representatives, but he has already snatched the chairman position at the Foreign Affairs Committee, thanks to his record-setting 1.8 million votes in October 2018 and his father’s win in the presidential race. Usually, this role is hardly a thrilling one, with the head of the committee being tasked largely with analyzing bills related to foreign policy...