Jair Bolsonaro

"Bolsonaro" redirects here. For the surname, see Bolsonaro (surname).

His Excellency
Jair Bolsonaro
Bolsonaro in 2019
38th President of Brazil
In office
1 January 2019 – 1 January 2023
Vice PresidentHamilton Mourão
Preceded byMichel Temer
Succeeded byLuiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office
1 February 1991 – 31 December 2018
ConstituencyRio de Janeiro
Councillor of Rio de Janeiro
In office
1 January 1989 – 31 January 1991
ConstituencyAt-large
Personal details
Born (1955-03-21) 21 March 1955 (age 69)
Glicério, São Paulo, Brazil
Political partyPL (since 2021)
Other political
affiliations
See list
Spouses
Rogéria Nantes Braga
​
​
(m. 1978; div. 1997)​
Ana Cristina Valle
​
​
(m. 1997; div. 2007)​
​
(m. 2007)​
Children5, including Flávio, Carlos, and Eduardo
Alma materMilitary Academy of Agulhas Negras
Signature
Military service
Allegiance Brazil
Branch/service Brazilian Army
Years of service1973–1988
RankCaptain
Commands
  • 21st Field Artillery Group
  • 9th Field Artillery Group
  • 8th Parachutist Field Artillery Group
Jair Bolsonaro's voice
On TV Brasil
Recorded February 2022

Jair Messias Bolsonaro (Brazilian Portuguese: [ʒaˈiʁ meˈsi.ɐz bowsoˈnaɾu]; born 21 March 1955) is a Brazilian politician and retired military officer who served as the 38th President of Brazil from 2019 to 2023. He previously served as member of Brazil's Chamber of Deputies from 1991 to 2018.

Bolsonaro began serving in the Brazilian Army in 1973 and graduated from the Military Academy of Agulhas Negras in 1977. He rose to publicity in 1986 after he wrote an article for Veja magazine criticizing low wages for military officers, after which he was arrested and detained for fifteen days. He left the army and was elected to the Municipal Chamber of Rio de Janeiro two years later. In 1990, Bolsonaro was first elected to the Chamber of Deputies as a representative for the state of Rio de Janeiro. During his 27-year tenure as a congressman, he became known for his national conservatism. Bolsonaro entered the 2018 Brazilian presidential election, during which he started to advocate economically liberal and pro-market policies.[1] He led in the 7 October first round results and defeated Fernando Haddad in the 28 October runoff.

Bolsonaro focused on domestic affairs in his first months as president, dealing primarily with the fallout of the 2014 Brazilian economic crisis. The economy recovered slowly, while crime rates fell sharply during the first year.[2][3] He rolled back protections for Indigenous groups in the Amazon rainforest[4] and facilitated its deforestation.[5] Bolsonaro's response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil was criticized across the political spectrum after he sought to downplay the pandemic and its effects, opposed quarantine measures, and dismissed two health ministers, while the death toll increased rapidly.[6]

In the runoff of the 2022 general election, Bolsonaro lost to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.[7] On 8 January 2023, his supporters stormed federal government buildings, calling for a coup d'état. On 30 June, the Superior Electoral Court blocked Bolsonaro from seeking office until 2030 for attempting to undermine the validity of the election through his unfounded claims of voter fraud, and for abusing his power by using government communication channels to both promote his campaign and to allege fraud. Testimonies from military officials showed that Bolsonaro had allegedly planned a self-coup with the military to keep himself in power.

A polarizing and controversial politician, Bolsonaro's views and comments, which have been described as far-right and populist, drew both praise and criticism in Brazil.[8][9][10][11] He is a vocal opponent of same-sex marriage,[12][13] abortion,[14] affirmative action,[15] drug liberalization, and secularism.[16] In foreign policy, he has advocated closer relations with Israel and with the United States;[17][18] later in his presidency, he also made efforts to improve relations with the BRICS countries.[19][20][21]

  1. ^ Boghossian, Bruno; Carneiro, Mariana (9 October 2017). "Bolsonaro diz que é liberal e adota discurso que agrada investidores" [Bolsonaro says he is a liberal and adopts a speech that pleases investors]. Folha de S.Paulo (in Brazilian Portuguese). Brasília. Archived from the original on 16 November 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  2. ^ "Slow economic recovery and China to be discussed at 2020 Brazilian Prospects Seminar". Fundação Getúlio Vargas. 5 March 2019. Archived from the original on 9 July 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  3. ^ "No primeiro ano do governo Bolsonaro, estados garantem queda na criminalidade" [In the first year of the Bolsonaro government, states guarantee a drop in crime]. Fundação Getúlio Vargas (in Brazilian Portuguese). 5 March 2019. Archived from the original on 25 September 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Indigenous Global Affairs was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference environment was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Watson, Katy (12 June 2020). "Coronavirus: How pandemic turned political in Brazil". BBC News. São Paulo. Archived from the original on 6 July 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  7. ^ Tavares, Joelmir (30 October 2022). "Bolsonaro é 1º presidente a perder reeleição e deixará cargo em 31 de dezembro" [Bolsonaro is the 1st president to lose re-election and will leave office on December 31st]. Folha de S.Paulo (in Brazilian Portuguese). São Paulo. Archived from the original on 31 October 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  8. ^ Brooke, James (25 July 1993). "Conversations/Jair Bolsonaro; A Soldier Turned Politician Wants To Give Brazil Back to Army Rule". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 24 October 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  9. ^ "Brazilian Swamp Drainer". The Wall Street Journal. The Editorial Board. 8 October 2018. Archived from the original on 10 October 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  10. ^ Barón, Francho (7 October 2014). "O inquietante 'fenômeno Bolsonaro'" [The restless 'Bolsonaro phenomenon']. El País (in Brazilian Portuguese). Rio de Janeiro. Archived from the original on 16 June 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  11. ^ "Brazil's congress starts to reform itself". The Economist. Brasília. 14 October 2017. Archived from the original on 15 October 2017. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  12. ^ Andrade, Claudia (5 May 2011). "Bolsonaro: após união gay, próximo passo é legalizar pedofilia" [Bolsonaro: after gay union, the next step is to legalize pedophilia]. terra.com.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on 25 February 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  13. ^ Sullivan, Zoe (29 October 2018). "LGBTQ Brazilians on edge after self-described 'homophobic' lawmaker elected president". NBC News. Olinda. Archived from the original on 31 October 2018.
  14. ^ "Bolsonaro, em Porto Alegre, confirma ser contra o aborto e a favor da redução da maioridade penal" [Bolsonaro, in Porto Alegre, confirms he is against abortion and in favor of lowering the age of criminal responsibility]. O Sul (in Brazilian Portuguese). 21 August 2015. Archived from the original on 16 June 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  15. ^ Costa, Gilberto (1 April 2011). "Para ministra da Igualdade Racial, declarações de Bolsonaro são caso explícito de racismo" [For minister of Racial Equality, Bolsonaro's statements are "an explicit case of racism"]. Universo Online (in Brazilian Portuguese). Brasília. Archived from the original on 16 June 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  16. ^ "Jair Bolsonaro: "Sou preconceituoso, com muito orgulho"" [Jair Bolsonaro: "I'm prejudiced, with much pride"]. Época (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2 July 2011. Archived from the original on 12 April 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  17. ^ "Brazil's Workers' Party likens pro-Israel presidential front-runner to Hitler". The Times of Israel. 6 October 2018. Archived from the original on 12 October 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  18. ^ Wierson, Arick (7 October 2018). "Will Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro Become Trump's New Best Friend?". The New York Observer. Archived from the original on 12 October 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  19. ^ Stuenkel, Oliver (22 September 2022). "Why Beijing Wants Bolsonaro to Win". Foreign Policy. São Paulo. Archived from the original on 2 October 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference russia was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ "BRICS played decisive role in overcoming 2008 crisis, Brazil's Bolsonaro says". TASS. Rio de Janeiro. 23 June 2022. Archived from the original on 4 October 2022.