Jair Bolsonaro

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

Born in Glicério, São Paulo, Bolsonaro began serving in the Brazilian Army in 1973 and graduated from the Military Academy of Agulhas Negras in 1977.^[1] He attracted publicity in 1986 after he wrote an article for Veja magazine criticizing the low wages of 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 he 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 presidential election, during which he began advocating economically liberal and pro-market policies.^[2] 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.^[3][4] He rolled back protections for Indigenous groups in the Amazon rainforest^[5] and facilitated its deforestation.^[6] 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.^[7]

A polarizing politician, Bolsonaro has drawn both praise and criticism in Brazil for his views and comments, which have been described as far-right and populist.^{[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]

In the 2022 general election Bolsonaro lost to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.^[21] On 8 January 2023 a mob of Bolsonaro's 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. Testimony from military officials showed that Bolsonaro had planned a self-coup with the military to keep himself in power.^[22]

In November 2024 he was indicted by the Federal Police of Brazil of multiple crimes related to the coup.^[23] He was charged in February 2025,^[24] and the Supreme Court ruled he must stand trial.^[25] On 4 August 2025 he was placed under house arrest for using a mobile phone and accessing social media via his son Eduardo,^[26] violating pre-trial rules.^[27] His trial began on 2 September; on 11 September he was found guilty by the Supreme Federal Court and sentenced to 27 years and 3 months in prison.^[28][29]