After spending three months in the United States, former President Jair Bolsonaro returned to Brazil this Thursday (03.30.2023), amid a strong security scheme set up at the Brasilia airport. The far-right politician, who traveled to the US two days before leaving power, arrived on a commercial Gol airline flight from Orlando.
For security reasons, Bolsonaro, 68, did not go inside the terminal where some 200 supporters were waiting for him, many of them carrying the Brazilian flag and chanting “The captain is back!” The far-right leader, who is facing several investigations in different judicial instances, then went to the headquarters of the Liberal Party, where he was received in a private ceremony by his wife Michelle and by the president of the formation, Valdemar Costa Neto.
Before boarding in Orlando, the former president told CNN Brazil at the airport that he will not lead the opposition to Lula’s government, but that he will contribute his “experience” of more than three decades in politics “to change what needs to be changed” in the country. “It is not necessary to make opposition to this government. This government is an opposition by itself given the qualification of those who compose it,” said the ex-governor.
Object of investigations
Once at the Liberal Party headquarters, after a warm reception by his co-religionists, Bolsonaro went out to greet the dozens of people who had gathered outside the building but did not make any statement. The now ex-president is going to reside in a mansion ceded by the PL, the formation of which he will be his honorary president starting next week, a job for which he will receive a salary of $8,000 per month.
In addition, the former president will face difficulties with the law. He is the subject of five investigations subject to prison terms in the Federal Supreme Court, the most recently opened for his possible role as instigator of the assault on the three powers on January 8. In addition, he runs the risk of being declared “ineligible” if he is convicted in any of the 16 cases being processed by the Superior Electoral Tribunal, which is investigating possible political and economic abuses in the 2022 presidential elections.
If convicted, he could be banned from contesting elections for eight years, leaving him out of the 2026 election.
