He had been away from his country for three months: Jair Bolsonaro returned to Brazil on Thursday, March 30 in the morning after a long stay in the United States.
Determined to go back to politics and to uphold ultra-conservative values, the far-right ex-president did not go to greet the two hundred fervent supporters who were waiting for him, singing and chanting his name at the airport. , after arriving from Florida shortly before 7 a.m. local time (noon CET).
He went directly to the premises of the Liberal Party (PL) under whose banner he had run for re-election, according to images broadcast by CNN Brasil. The reunion with his political allies and relatives gave rise to warm embraces.
Mr. Bolsonaro made an appearance to say hello to his admirers, often dressed in the yellow and green of the national flag, before leaving the premises very quickly, under a radiant sun, to wave them with the hand. The military police had been mobilized in numbers for this arrival, fearing overflows while the PL had made a lot of publicity on social networks for the return of Mr. Bolsonaro.
Series of surveys
After the premises of the PL, Jair Bolsonaro was to go to his future residence, a very protected residential complex in the Jardim botânico district in Brasilia, with his wife Michelle. He had left Brazil on December 30, even before the end of his term, boycotting Lula's inauguration ceremony on January 1. At 68 and after a defeat of less than 2 million votes which had plunged him into silence, he declared last week his intention to "travel the country" and "to do politics".
The ex-president, the subject of a long series of investigations, exposes himself to legal proceedings, while complicating the political deal for his left-wing successor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is going through a difficult sequence, less than three months after taking office. After contracting pneumonia, he had to postpone a state visit to China this week on which his advisers were counting to restore his image following various controversies and untimely statements.
Jair Bolsonaro is entering the midst of a controversy over luxury jewelry, worth at least 3 million euros, received from Saudi Arabia, which he would have brought illegally into Brazil. He was summoned by the police on April 5 for a statement. Having lost his immunity, he is also the subject of five investigations at the Supreme Court in cases that could earn him prison sentences.
The most recent concerns his role in the January 8 looting of places of power in Brasilia by thousands of his supporters. The other four relate to alleged crimes during his tenure: misinformation about the electronic ballot box system or about Covid. Jair Bolsonaro is also the subject of no less than sixteen investigations at the Superior Electoral Court. He could be sentenced to eight years of ineligibility, which would prevent him from running in the 2026 presidential election.
