Jair Bolsonaro

He served as federal deputy from 1991 to 2019 and President of Brazil from 2019 to 2023. Wikipedia describes him as far-right. He was barred from office until 2030 by the Superior Electoral Court in 2023, and is named in the market on who reaches the 2026 presidential runoff.

Career

Bolsonaro served as an army officer from 1973 to 1988, reaching the rank of captain. He entered politics in 1988, was a Rio de Janeiro city councillor from 1989 to 1991 and a federal deputy from 1991 to 2019. He was elected President of Brazil in 2018 and governed from 2019 to 2023, losing the 2022 election to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Positions

Wikipedia describes him as far-right and populist. He opposed same-sex marriage, abortion, affirmative action and drug decriminalisation, and advocated closer ties with Israel and the United States.

Controversies

On 30 June 2023 the Superior Electoral Court barred Bolsonaro from seeking office until 2030 for undermining confidence in the voting system with unsubstantiated fraud claims and abusing government communication channels. On 11 September 2025 a Supreme Court panel voted 4 to 1 to convict him of attempting a coup, heading an armed criminal organisation and related counts, and sentenced him to 27 years and 3 months. He denies wrongdoing and says he is a victim of political persecution; his lawyers said they would appeal. Wikipedia reports his arrest on 22 November 2025, enforcement of the sentence ordered on 25 November, and temporary house arrest from 24 March 2026 on health grounds.

Summarised automatically from the linked sources. Wikipedia · Dawn

Photo: Palácio do Planalto from Brasilia, Brasil, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons (cropped)