From the Army to disqualification, the political career of Jair Bolsonaro

The decision of the electoral Justice to disqualify the far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro this Friday puts an end, for the moment, to the public career of a military man who began as a councilor in Rio de Janeiro, reached the Presidency (2019-2022) and was defeated by the against Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in last year’s elections.

During that time, Bolsonaro became the spokesperson for a right-wing movement that questioned the corruption of the governments of Lula (2003-2010) and Dilma Rousseff (2011-2016), claimed the role of the Army in Brazilian society, and denied truths scientific issues such as the climate crisis and the effectiveness of vaccines against COVID-19.

These are the key dates in the career of Bolsonaro, 68, since he took off his army captain’s uniform to launch into politics:

1986.- Bolsonaro, enlisted in the Army, complains about the low salaries of the military in an article published in Veja magazine, for which he is sanctioned.

1988.- The Supreme Military Court acquits Bolsonaro for lack of evidence of an alleged plan to plant bombs in several barracks.

1989.- He takes office as councilor of Rio de Janeiro for the Christian Democratic Party (PDC), a center-right formation.

1991.- He begins to work as a federal deputy in Brasilia, the beginning of a long career in the Chamber of Deputies that will last almost 30 years.

2002.- He declared during a speech that he voted for Lula in the second round of the presidential elections of that year.

2007.- He marries in a second marriage and civilly with Michelle Bolsonaro, future first lady, with whom he will have a daughter.

2014.- He blurts out to a representative of the Workers’ Party (PT) that she “does not deserve” to be raped for being “very ugly”, one of her most controversial statements.

2016.- He votes in favor of the ‘impeachment’ of President Dilma Rousseff and says that he does so “for the memory” of a colonel responsible for torturing guerrillas during the dictatorship.

2017.- He appears as a candidate for president of the Chamber of Deputies for the third time and is defeated again.

2018:

July 22.- Officializes his candidacy for the Presidency of the Republic with the Social Liberal Party (PSL), under the motto “Brazil above all, God above all.”

September 6.- A man stabs him in the abdomen during an electoral rally and spends three weeks hospitalized.

October 28.- He wins the presidential elections with 55% of the votes against 45% for his rival, Fernando Haddad, of the PT.

2019:

January 1.- Takes office as president.

2020.- Former judge Sergio Moro resigns as Justice Minister and accuses the president of illegally interfering in police investigations.

2021.- An investigation commission of the Chamber of Deputies accuses Bolsonaro of crimes against humanity for his management of the COVID-19 pandemic.

2022:

July 18.- Bolsonaro meets with ambassadors from various countries at the Alvorada Palace, the official residence of the Presidency, to launch false accusations against the electronic ballot boxes that will be used in the elections, which is why he was tried and disqualified by the electoral justice.

October 30.- He loses the re-election with 49.10% of the votes, compared to 50.90% for Lula, the closest result since the restoration of democracy.

December 30.- Lands in Florida two days before Lula’s inauguration.

2023:

January 8.- Thousands of Bolsonaro’s followers assault and destroy the headquarters of the Judicial, Legislative and Executive powers, in Brasilia.

March 30.- Returns to Brazil, after spending three months in the US.

June 30.- The Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE), by 5 votes in favor and 2 against, disqualifies him for eight years for abuse of power in the 2022 elections.

Source: EFE