Another Bolsonaro Takes Center Stage

[Judi Lynn]

BY NICK BURNS
MAY 10, 2023

Once shy of the spotlight, former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro has embraced a more active role in conservative politics. What’s her next move?



Michelle Bolsonaro greets supporters at Liberal Party headquarters in Brasília on March 30.
Evaristo Juliano de Sá/AFP via Getty Images
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In the months prior to Brazil’s 2022 presidential election, polls showed Jair Bolsonaro trailing Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva by as many as 30 percentage points among women. Worried, his campaign deployed its ace in the hole: Michelle Bolsonaro, the president’s young, photogenic wife, a devout evangelical who until that point had a limited public profile.

In July, drawing heavily on Christian themes, she delivered a rousing speech in Rio de Janeiro that brought Bolsonaro, standing behind her, to tears.

“His campaign rescued patriotism, it answered the call,” Michelle Bolsonaro said of her husband. “He is one of God’s chosen ones, he has a clean, pure heart—and he’s handsome, huh? But he’s mine.”
The speech was a hit—and Michelle Bolsonaro was credited with helping bring her husband within striking distance in the runoff election (he lost by less than two percentage points).

That success on the campaign trail has also prompted speculation about her own political future. Jair Bolsonaro faces more than a dozen court challenges, which he and several allies have acknowledged may render him ineligible to run again for the presidency in 2026. Though Michelle Bolsonaro has also faced past allegations of wrongdoing, including questions about whether she was involved in an attempt to improperly keep a gift from the king of Saudi Arabia of jewels and other luxury goods worth millions, some say she is a natural future leader of Brazil’s conservative movement.

More:
https://americasquarterly.org/article/another-bolsonaro-takes-center-stage/