The former president’s son believes that the Republican’s victory generates indirect pressure that could lead Bolsonaro to return to the polls in 2026.
The victory of the Republican Donald Trump in the North American presidential elections has generated a wave of euphoria not only among the supporters and voters of the newly elected president.
In Brazil (and the United States), supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) also celebrated Trump’s victory and began to publicize the hope that, in a sort of domino effect, Bolsonaro could have his ineligibility revoked and can contest the presidential elections. elections in 2026.
This is the expectation of one of the main exponents of Bolsonarism, son of the former president and federal deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL-SP).
In a brief interview with BBC News Brasil, Eduardo Bolsonaro said that Trump’s victory could have an effect on the 2026 elections.
“Trump’s victory activates the imagination that Bolsonaro can also return,” says Eduardo Bolsonaro directly from Florida, in the southern United States, where he followed the election results at Trump’s property known as Mar-a-Lago.
Jair Bolsonaro became ineligible in 2023 after being convicted twice by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE).
In a first trial, he was convicted of abuse of political power for convening a meeting with ambassadors of foreign countries, where he questioned the reliability of Brazil’s electoral system.
The second conviction was for abuse of economic power.
His defense claimed he was innocent in both cases. Bolsonaro’s ineligibility ends in 2030, when, in theory, he could participate in new elections.
In Brazil, however, there is a movement led by the Bolsonarists to reverse the ineligibility of the former president, both through legal resources and through the approval of a law that provides a sort of amnesty covering his case.
Eduardo Bolsonaro, however, says he believes it is not just the activation of Brazilians’ imaginations that is responsible for an eventual reversal of Bolsonaro’s ineligibility.
He says he believes Trump’s coming to power could exert some sort of indirect influence on the ministers of the Federal Supreme Court (STF). The Court could, in theory, judge the appeals presented by Bolsonaro’s defense regarding his ineligibility.
“I don’t see them [o governo norte-americano] send a message to the TSE or something. But, certainly, the STF… one or two judges who feel more comfortable adopting their policies… will be on the defensive,” says Eduardo Bolsonaro.
Discover the main extracts from the interview.
BBC News Brasil – Can Trump’s victory change the fate of former president Jair Bolsonaro in relation to his ineligibility? What’s the plan?
Eduardo Bolsonaro – Trump doesn’t need to do anything. Precisely the political atmosphere created by his election already activates the imagination of Brazilians according to which Bolsonaro could also return.
Both cases, Trump’s victory in 2016 and Bolsonaro’s victory in 2018, were unlikely elections. And later, when they failed to win re-election, the two complained of suspicions in the electoral process.
With Trump’s return, this increases Brazilians’ imagination that Bolsonaro could do the same. There are evils that come forever.
If Trump had been re-elected in 2020, he would not have the same strength in Congress as he has today. Trump will have a majority in both the House and the Senate.
It is not difficult for us to imagine that Bolsonaro, being able to run in 2026, would have a more solid majority in the House and Senate, which would greatly help advance the agendas desired by conservative presidents. […]
Trump’s victory represents a paradigm shift. If you start to look at our entire region, at the Americas, you see a shift to the right.
The United States with President Trump. Ecuador with Daniel Noboa, Uruguay with Luis Alberto Lacalle Pou, Paraguay with [Santiago] Peña and Javier Milei in Argentina.
Soon we will have elections in Brazil, in 2026… in Chile and Colombia. It’s not hard to imagine that the entire region will become more conservative.
BBC News Brasil – From the point of view of President Bolsonaro’s ineligibility, do you believe that Trump’s victory could put pressure on the TSE or the STF or that ministers could feel, in some way, pressured by this victory and change their understanding of the issue? ?
Eduardo Bolsoano – Of the seven TSE judges, three are from the Supreme Court. They talk to each other. We all saw that Elon Musk had a huge confrontation with Alexandre Moraes. Elon Musk was with us yesterday at Mar-a-Lago and Trump said he would give him a job to work within the American government.
What is Elon Musk’s main flag? It’s freedom of expression. I don’t see them [o governo norte-americano] send a message to the TSE or something. But, certainly, the STF…one or two judges who feel more comfortable adopting their policies…will be on the defensive.
Because in this case I wouldn’t face another comparison with a North American company like Twitter [atual X] or as in the case of Starlink, which Alexandre de Moraes had to deal with. So they would find themselves faced with a minister of the North American government.
And here in the United States there are several laws to prevent this abuse of authority towards American authorities. It is therefore natural that there is, especially on the part of an STF minister, greater caution and prudence.
I think there will be this scenario of less abuse, of putting the ball in midfield and saying: “Look… we exaggerated in these points”. At the end of the day, everyone has assets in the United States, everyone has a house here, everyone wants to have an American visa, everyone has a bank account. Whether it’s someone from your work environment, from your family… This is how, normally, the United States exerts its influence.
They [o governo dos Estados Unidos] they froze the assets, not only of Nicolás Maduro and Diosdado Cabello [ministro do Interior e da Justiça da Venezuela]but by several other Venezuelan authorities.
It is true that this happened for other reasons, but the United States does not hesitate to use the powers at its disposal to exert international geopolitical pressure.
BBC News Brasil – Do you expect the US to apply pressure to overturn President Bolsonaro’s ineligibility?
Eduardo Bolsonaro – As I said, I don’t see direct political action from the United States at this point. But the question of Bolsonaro’s ineligibility is a question of justice […] And the relationship between the United States and Brazil is increasingly intimate.
There is a bill, for example, from the deputy [republicana] Maria Elvira Salazar, which provides for the withdrawal of visas from foreign authorities who do not respect the freedom of expression of Americans. And this was the case with Twitter.
The agenda is advancing and I increasingly see a favorable atmosphere to reverse the ineligibility of Jair Bolsonaro.
I want to make it clear that I do not speak for anyone in the United States, for any authority. But what I mean is, here in the United States, they are increasingly aware of what is happening in Brazil.
BBC News Brasil – Was the former president invited to attend Trump’s inauguration? And if you are invited, will you be able to go?
Eduardo Bolsonaro – We are waiting here for him to be invited to take office. I’m here talking to some people and he should be invited to the inauguration, yes. But you have to get your passport back, right? Lawyers must submit a request to Alexandre de Moraes to have their passport returned in order to undertake this trip. Trump will certainly call him.
Source: Terra
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