After spending three months in Florida, the far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro returns to Brazil to lead the opposition against Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The Brazilian leader, who is facing several legal cases, has assured that he wants to help his party, the Liberal Party, to campaign for the next local elections.
Bolsonaro is scheduled to arrive at the Brasilia international airport at 7:10 a.m. local time, where thousands of people have gathered to welcome him, and strong security devices have been activated to prevent riots. The shadow of January 8, the day his supporters stormed Congress, the Presidency and the Supreme Court in an attempted coup, continues to weigh heavily on the Brazilian authorities, who called on his followers to refrain from demonstrations and warned that they would close the accesses to the Esplanade of the Ministries, where the assault took place.
Speaking to CNN at the Orlando airport, Bolsonaro has assured that “he has turned the page” and that he is now “preparing for next year’s elections.” He has minimized his return, saying that he does not want to “head the opposition” but that he does intend to tour Brazil “once or twice a month”, looking to “talk to his supporters.”
After landing, the former Head of State will meet his wife Michelle Bolsonaro, party president Valdemar Costa Neto and General Braga Netto for a meeting at the Liberal Party headquarters.
Bolsonaro, who has never acknowledged his defeat in the elections, left for the United States on December 30, two days before the end of his term, without attending the inauguration of current President Lula da Silva.
Upon his return, he will have to render accounts before the Justice. The ex-president is the subject of five investigations in the Supreme Court susceptible to prison sentences or being “ineligible” in the next elections, among which stands out the one that involves him as the alleged instigator of the assault on the three powers on January 8.
The liberal Costa Neto warned that Bolsonaro was losing political capital by staying in Florida and hopes the arrival of the former president will help his party improve the results of the municipal elections.
Bolsonaro faces the challenge of reorganizing the extreme right and wearing down President Lula da Silva ahead of the next elections in 2026. At his side he will have his wife Michelle, who has gained popularity among the evangelical population and is emerging as a charismatic figure of the party capable of mobilizing the female electorate.
