In today’s Brazil, a knock-on effect of President Jair Bolsonaro moving even further to the far-right inevitably means that anyone ever-so-slightly to his left will be erroneously singled out as a moderate. One of these false moderates is military police major-turned-senator Sérgio Olímpio Gomes, known around Brazil as simply Major Olímpio.
A staunch advocate for Brazilians’ right to arm themselves to the teeth, for harsh punishments for criminals, and for the denial of treatment to prisoners with Covid-19, Major Olimpio is perhaps as reactionary as they come. Yet, after distancing himself from the Bolsonaro government due to spats...