Bolsonaro returns to Brazil with trips and proposal to organize opposition

Former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) returns to Brazil this Thursday (30), at 7:30 am, with the proposal to reorganize and lead the opposition, in addition to acting in articulation to make a candidate for the presidency of the Republic viable until 2026. current scenario, he is a possible candidate.

The idea is that Bolsonaro travels the country on a travel schedule and meets with mayors, governors, businessmen and parliamentarians from the PL and opposition benches in the Chamber and Senate over the next few weeks. For now, however, there are still no dates or further strategic definitions of his activities.

Interlocutors of the PL claim that he will only start political activities from next week and will still talk to leaders and the national president of the party, Valdemar Costa Neto, before hitting the hammer and making decisions.

By the end of the week, allies predict that Bolsonaro will take the first few days off to take care of his family. “He is a human being like anyone else, he has responsibilities to his family, his wife and children, especially his underage daughter [Laura Bolsonaro, de 12 anos]”, comments federal deputy Captain Alberto Neto (PL-AM), deputy leader of the party in the Chamber.

The former president’s ally claims that a “great reception” is expected upon his return. “There are people coming from all over Brazil to welcome him”, he points out. Bolsonaro must rely on reinforced security, but a return event is not foreseen.

Police want to avoid motorcades and turmoil on Bolsonaro’s arrival

In conversation with the PL summit and Costa Neto, Bolsonaro did not ask for any specific celebration and expressed support for the idea of ​​a spontaneous reception. If supporters are present, the expectation is that the former president will go to the people present.

The superintendent of the Federal Police, Cezar Luiz Busto de Souza, asked the population not to go to the airport, as the president should not disembark through the main hall. “We seek to preserve the routine at Brasília airport. 40,000 people pass through there every day. And any problems may have repercussions on the entire Brazilian air network,” he said.

Local authorities also stated that motorcades or parades in open cars will not be allowed. The access roads to the airport will be monitored by the police and the agglomeration of demonstrators must not be allowed.

The Esplanada dos Ministérios will be closed and the police must not allow demonstrators to set up camps. After leaving the airport, Bolsonaro must head to the headquarters of the PL, where he will receive allies.

Federal deputy Bia Kicis (PL-DF) takes office as president of the party’s district directory on Thursday night. Sources linked to her stated that Bolsonaro may attend the event in Brasília. His wife, Michelle Bolsonaro, president of the party’s women’s directory, has already confirmed her participation.

Bolsonaro will fulfill agendas as honorary president of the PL

The former president returns to Brazil with the status of Honorary President of the PL, a position offered by Valdemar Costa Neto. The two maintained a good and close relationship even when Bolsonaro was in the United States. As usual, he is expected to formally take possession of the title soon.

As president of honor, Bolsonaro will receive a salary equivalent to that of a minister of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), of around R$ 41,600. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) signed into law a bill approved at the end of last year by Congress that readjusted, in installments, the salary of magistrates by 18%. In 2025, remuneration will reach the ceiling of R$ 46.3 thousand.

Deputy Captain Alberto Neto says that, as president of honor, Bolsonaro will work in a “professionally partisan” way. “He intends to travel throughout Brazil to organize the party thinking about the 2024 elections, which are very important, it is the basis for the 2026 election. We need to go out with as many mayors and councilors as possible. be very focused on this mission”, he says.

The parliamentarian maintains that Bolsonaro will be the most important electoral supporter in the country for the 2024 elections. “His influence in the 2024 elections is very strong, so I have no doubt that, today, the PL is the largest party in strength of the president, we will continue to be this great party”, he highlights.

Although Bolsonaro’s travel schedule is not defined, according to Costa Neto’s interlocutors, one idea is that the caravan across the country starts in the Northeast region, specifically Maceió, the only capital where Bolsonaro defeated Lula in last year’s elections. The mayor is João Henrique Caldas, the JHC, ally of the mayor, Arthur Lira (PP-AL).

Bolsonaro wants to hear “everyone” for the opposition organization

An ally of the former president, deputy Evair Vieira de Melo (PP-ES) says that Bolsonaro is “super calm” and willing to listen to “everybody” on his return to Brazil. “He wants to talk to some governors, mayors, he wants to listen to a good number of parliamentarians. He is selecting a group of businessmen to listen to, he wants to listen to the financial sector and some sectors of the government’s base to, later, of course, defend the legacy of the that was his government and, little by little, organize the opposition’s agenda”, he says.

Melo reinforces that Bolsonaro will carry out his entire political agenda through the PL, but says that the operational definitions are not yet closed. “He will assume his position in the PL [presidente de honra], go walk Brazil, listen to the people. There is no plan to disrupt the country, it will keep the flame of his government burning”, he says.

Deputy Captain Alberto Neto recognizes that there is still no definition of the operational part of the agenda, especially regarding how Bolsonaro can be inserted in the process of organizing the opposition. But, the deputy says he understands that the political dynamics itself will guide the directions of the ex-president’s agenda.

“We still don’t know if it will be him personally who will organize the meetings [da oposição] or whether it will take care of the macro party issue. This has not yet been very well defined, but it is very clear that the government [Lula] is reaching its 100th day with nothing to present to the people, with the economy in a downturn”, says Alberto Neto. deal with certain issues”, he adds.

Deputy Marco Feliciano (PL-SP) considers that Bolsonaro’s return will be important to strengthen the opposition. “It will make a lot of people lose sleep. It will be a message to the Brazilian communist left that the right in Brazil is more alive than ever and ready to make an implacable opposition. But, with prudence, seeking the good of the nation, through inspection of public affairs, not allowing shady acts of corruption to come to hover again in the Brazilian scenario”, he highlights.

Feliciano is also convinced that Bolsonaro’s return will make people pay more attention to the actions of the Lula government and pay what was promised. “And there will be more than 50 million inspectors acting simultaneously throughout Brazil, and thousands more around the world reverberating everything that is said by the greatest leader of the opposition, all in line with the most conservative Parliament in history”, he says.

2024 elections are a priority, but the presidential race is in the crosshairs

Although Bolsonaro’s party-political work in the 2024 elections is a priority in the short term, the presidential elections in 2026 are also in the crosshairs of the political agenda. And despite the possibility of running for the post of political leadership in the conservative right, the former president still has the support of allies.

Federal deputy Sergeant Fahur (PSD-PR) supports the president for a possible presidential race in 2026 and considers that he will have even greater weight for being “wronged”. “What I expect from Bolsonaro is that he really makes a fierce, conscious and technical opposition against the government’s excesses. [Lula]which, in my point of view, he will have some ease, because the government is a succession of mistakes and failures”, he comments.

Deputy Captain Alberto Neto also hopes that Bolsonaro will lead the opposition in the country in a project for 2026 and bring with him the experience of president. “He knows how to manage the country, he will easily identify the mistakes that the government is making with the aim of correcting, bringing new propositions and making a different opposition, which will help build Brazil, and not an opposition that the PT used to the worse the better”, he points out.

Feliciano says he has “arms open” waiting for Bolsonaro. “We are united by the same flags. In Congress there are people loyal to the [ex-]president and Brazil, who will contribute to paving the way that will take President Bolsonaro back to the Presidency of the Republic in 2026”, he comments.

The deputy minimizes Bolsonaro’s defeat at the polls due to the smallest difference in history and understands that the former president has shown to be competitive and have political strength. “The population trusts the [ex-]president Bolsonaro and the proof of this is that she is represented in the Chamber by the 99 deputies elected in the party of [ex-]president, the PL”, he comments.

In addition, Feliciano understands that Bolsonaro continues to receive support from allies and that he has shown “Herculean resilience”. The deputy also considers that the former president is responsible for a “true revolution and renewal” in the Legislative. “His simple profile, spontaneous and, above all honest, conquered Brazil and brought back the love for the country, awakened civility in the population and hope in the hearts for fairer days”, he says.