Bolsonaro’s call to arms could be a shot in the foot

On May 15, around a million protestors took to the streets in over 170 Brazilian cities. Primarily made up of students and teachers, the masses marched against education budget cuts proposed by the sitting government. Speaking from Dallas, Texas, President Jair Bolsonaro called the demonstrators “useful idiots” who were being co-opted by a “cunning left-wing minority.” Despite Mr. Bolsonaro’s attempts to minimize the movement on the street, May 15 became the largest anti-government protest in the first year of a first-term president.

Less than six months into his presidency, Jair Bolsonaro is firmly on the back foot. Government crises appear to sprout on a weekly basis and the president’s popularity is slipping fast. In an attempt to show strength, Mr. Bolsonaro’s allies have called their own pro-government protest for this Sunday, May 26. However, Brazil’s broad right wing, which elected Mr. Bolsonaro last October, is less than enthusiastic about the prospects of taking to the streets.

In fact, some divisions of the president’s support base have come out in explicit opposition to the May 26 demonstrations. One of the most vocal critics has been Janaína Paschoal, who became the most-voted state lawmaker in Brazilian history last year, representing Mr. Bolsonaro’s Social Liberal Party (PSL). On her Twitter account, Ms. Paschoal called the government “irrational” and...