Bolsonaro returns to Brazil after three months in US

He is back. After a three-month stay in the United States, Jair Bolsonaro returned to Brazil early Thursday morning for the first time since his presidential defeat by Lula, determined to play an important political role.

The far-right ex-president, the subject of a long series of investigations, is facing a trial with possible disqualification and possible jail time, complicating the political deal for his left-wing successor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Around 200 supporters were waiting for him at the airport, all with Brazilian flags on their shoulders, singing in the midst of the unusual police deployment, an AFP journalist noted. But Bolsonaro left the airport without contacting them.

Bolsonaro wants to ‘bring (his) experience’

“We have been waiting for this moment for a long time,” said Eva Malgaso, a beauty salon employee, at the airport. “He needed this moment for him to be away. As a patriot, I approved of his departure,” she added.

Bolsonaro left Brazil on 30 December, even before the end of his mandate, by boycotting Lula’s inauguration ceremony on 1 January. “I will participate (to political life) of my party, bringing my experience,” he told CNN Brasil at the Orlando airport Wednesday night.

At the age of 68 and after a defeat of less than two million votes that plunged him into silence, even depression, Bolsonaro announced last week his intention to “travel the country” and “get into politics” to defend ultra-conservative values ​​in Brazil.

The return is causing nervousness in Brasilia, where the military police were ready to quickly cut off access to the Trois-Pouvoir Esplanade in the center of the capital, as well as at the airport, in case of overcrowding. Bolsonaro’s supporters were called on social media to greet him in large numbers. As such, PL MP Gustavo Gaier called for “strong support” to “open the way for Bolsonaro’s return to the presidency”.

A thorn in Lula’s side

At the political level, “Lula will now have to govern with an organized opposition, which could make a big difference,” said Jairo Nicolau, a political scientist at the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV). This period is getting worse for Lula, as after contracting pneumonia, he had to postpone this week a state visit to China, which his advisers hoped to restore his image after various disputes and untimely statements.

Bolsonaro is at the center of a controversy over luxury jewelry worth at least three million euros from Saudi Arabia that he could smuggle into Brazil. On April 5, he was summoned to the police to testify. But he is also in the crosshairs of justice in several cases and has been stripped of his immunity. In particular, Bolsonaro is the subject of five investigations in the Supreme Court in cases that can lead to imprisonment.

The most recent concerns his role in the January 8 riots against the seats of power in Brasilia, looted by thousands of his supporters. The remaining four are related to alleged wrongdoings during his term: disinformation about the electronic ballot box system or about Covid. Jair Bolsonaro is also the subject of at least 16 investigations before the Supreme Electoral Court (TSE). He could be sentenced to eight years in ban, which will prevent him from running for president in 2026.