What does he actually do? ask people here in Brazil. They mean Jair Bolsonaro, the country’s president. Since losing the election on October 30, the formerly outspoken politician has practically disappeared from the public eye. After the election, it took two days before he commented on the defeat, and three weeks before he resumed his work in the presidential palace. When he missed one of his official duties, to meet new ambassadors to receive their credentials, it was the vice president, Hamilton Mourão, who stood up. He had the following explanation for the boss’s absence: Jair Bolsonaro has had little to see after the defeat in the presidential election. Photo: ADRIANO MACHADO / Reuters – He has a wound on his leg that prevents him from wearing trousers. He can’t meet the ambassadors in just his underpants, said the vice-president. “Do almost nothing” Now it is completely normal for an outgoing president to take up less space in the news, and for the interest to be linked to the person who will take over. In this case, the leftist leader Lula da Silva. But Bolsonaro’s absence and silence is striking, and is regularly commented on in the media: “Bolsonaro does almost nothing”, read a headline in the major newspaper Folha de São Paulo a few weeks after the election. And the newspaper presented the president’s official programme, which was extremely thin. A Bolsonaro supporter demonstrates against the results of the presidential election on 30 October Photo: SERGIO LIMA / AFP But it is not only the critics who react to Bolsonaro’s absence: His supporters have carried out extensive actions, and hope that the “captain”, as they call him, will stand at the head of a protest against the election results. “Is something happening soon”? Many of them have sat down in front of demonstrations around the country, demanding that the military take over power. But now the protestors’ patience is running out, if the comments on social media are to be believed: – Captain, I have now spent 25 days in front of the military camp. I am starving and freezing, but I am a patriot and want to save the country from communism. Is anything happening soon? one of them asks. Another writes on Twitter: – I have been on standby for a month here at the camp, and I am still waiting for your order. I am ready for effort. For God’s sake, President, give us a sign! And of course Bolsonaro’s opponents can’t help themselves from making sarcastic comments: “I have removed you” One of them has posted a photo of the president with one of his most famous and infamous quotes: Photo: Twitter – Only God can remove me from the presidency. Then comes an image that should represent God – and the text: “I have removed you”. But Bolsonaro shows no will to do like his great role model Donald Trump – to incite his followers to frontal attacks against the country’s democratic institutions. He has admittedly failed to acknowledge the election defeat. And he claims that there was a mistake with the voting machines on election day – which has cost him and his party a hefty fine. But he has approved the transition process to the next government, and the work is long overdue. “The army is ready for the civil war” Can we now be sure that there will be a peaceful takeover of power on the first day of the new year? The vast majority here in Brazil believe so, although far from everyone feels completely safe. Bolsonaro supporters’ websites are still boiling, with threats that “something is going to happen”. The president flirted with Lula when he was in prison. After the change of power, Bolsonaro himself may end up behind bars. Photo: ADRIANO MACHADO / Reuters One of them is “Direita Brasil” – Brazil’s Right Side – where the signature Silva Bueno states that “The army is ready for the civil war”. And he thinks he knows that Bolsonaro got the most votes in Northeast Brazil – Lula da Silva’s strongest bastion. “The nuclear family, unborn life and the traditional values of Western civilization”, are the website’s heart issues, we learn. ABBA-Agnetha and Bolso Some of the activity on the Bolsonaro supporters’ websites has considerable entertainment value. Such as the post where ABBA vocalist Agnetha Fältskog is made into a warm supporter of Brazil’s president. In a video showing ABBA-Agnetha in Fredrik Skavland’s studio, the translator has taken liberties to say the least. While Agnetha talks about life as an artist and mother of two, the following text scrolls across the screen: Photo: Twitter “It’s strange what’s happening with Bolsonaro – that such a popular president is not re-elected. We see clear signs of fraud in the Brazilian electoral system. This is really a shame for democracy”, reads the text, while poor Agnetha is presented as “the famous judge Anna Åse”. Whoever came up with the idea for this at least has a particularly fertile imagination. – Can just disappear out the back door The big question before the change of president on 1 January is whether Jair Bolsonaro will be present during the ceremony and hand over the presidential banner to his successor Lula da Silva. Many people doubt that this will happen, and when I interviewed Lula earlier this year I asked him about this: news met Lula da Silva in São Paulo earlier this year. Photo: Studio PT – I believe that it is his duty. But of course he can refuse. Something like this has probably only happened once in Brazil’s history. – For me, there is no problem. For my part, he can just disappear out the back door, said Brazil’s incoming president in the interview with news.
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Bolsonaro disappoints his supporters – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
