The Bolsonaro family and Trump have met many times over the years. In one of Trump’s most ridiculous trash in his first semester, Bolsonaro brought a entourage at Mar-A-Lago, and nearly twenty members of the group appeared. Coronavirus. (Bolsonaro escaped the virus, but it caught up with him a few months after he returned to Brazil. In isolation at the Presidential Palace, he was bitten by an EMU-like bird living on the ground.)
Even if Bolsonaro is out of work, the trajectory of the two men seems unusually linked. When Trump was committed to becoming increasingly militarized, Bolsenro often ruled Brazil during a period of military dictatorship between 1964 and 1985. When he planned a coup against Lula, he was supported by a large army. Many observers are concerned about how the armed forces will react if they are found guilty.
Many of Bolsonaro’s supporters seem to be fundamentally unconvincing. Like Trump, he gained favor from evangelical Christians, although he seemed to limit religious observations to occasional pious acts. In Brazil, Christianity is an important and growing political force. More than 30% of residents are Pentecostals, up from 13% thirteen years ago.
Brazilian filmmaker Petra Costa charmsly illuminates the phenomenon in the newly released documentary Apocalypse of the Tropical Regions. (Her previous movies,The edge of democracy“Draws the drawing of Brazil’s victory over autocracy and Bolsonaro, which was nominated for the Oscar in 2020.
Costa Rica uses much of the lens spanning the past decade to show how the two people work to combine spiritual influence with populist politics. In private and pulpit, Malafia opposes “cultural Marxism” and “political correctness” and calls for the removal of “left-wing nuts”, a term from Lula’s popular Workers’ Party. During the campaign, Bolsonaro promised that every citizen could own a gun at home and that “indigenous people would not have an inch of land”, referring to the Brazilian constitutional obligation to demarcate land as the land that the country has deprived.
Some critics say Costa Rica exaggerates Malafia’s influence. But when I spoke with her recently, she pointed to Bolsonaro’s intense speech in 2021, who vowed not to comply with De Moraes’ ruling and declared that his regained power had only three victories: victory, prison or death. As he spoke, Costa saw Malafia whispering. “Seeing that scene, I asked myself if I wasn’t the one who wrote this speech,” she said.
Her film shows Malafia in the church with Bolsonro on stage, after an almost fatal stabbing on the campaign. We saw them share a laugh about Bolsonaro’s wedding, and Malafia hosted the wedding. Throughout the process, Malafia proved in an interview with Costa Rica that his political aspirations were defended through the allegorical biblical ones. During the chaotic craze of Rio de Janeiro, Malafia succumbed to the rabble of the road and said, “Jesus whipped a whip to the messed-up people in the temple.”
News found on Bolsonaro’s phone a few weeks ago indicated that he was providing allegations against him to the former president and advised him. At one point, Malafia suggested that Bolsonaro record a message to Trump, providing key points of conversations about the use of the Lula administration. Bolsonaro tells Malafaia that he will try, but he is distracted by the ic-shot steps.
After the news was made public, Malafia shared an unpopular social media post: “When Billy Graham consults the president of the United States, we celebrate his courage to prove that the gospel can reach the highest echelon of power. However, when a Brazilian pastor is asked to consult a politician, he will immediately post a “corruption” attitude because he will rely on his thoughts when he is a noble king, because his consciousness is relied on, and this is a king who belongs to the nation, and this is a man who relied on, and this is a man who relied on. Little raised the voices against racism, and he was killed as a martyr and remembered as a prophet of justice.”
When the Supreme Court prepares to announce its verdict in Bolsenro’s case, it is difficult to know how many Brazilians will believe in Marafia’s politically religious version and how many will stick to De Moraes’s negative view of justice. In a stunning scene in a Costa Rican film, she escorts a party in the recently elected evangelical legislators to the parliamentary building where they pray with ecstasy, crying and begging God to enter the room. In the subsequent dubbing, Costa Rica muses that despite her origins from the same country as Pentecostal, her essentially secular environment seems to be a world isolated: “I know what the Russian Revolution is, what oxygen is, but there is no Apostle Paul.” She feels she is witnessing religion being shaped into “an unprecedented political force,” a triumph of faith, and a democratic tenet based on modern Brazil.
However, Costa told me that Bolsonro’s trial represented his own historical valuation. “Brazil never tried everything they did during their dictatorship,” she said. “They were never punished for their crimes. Bolsenro was elected president to celebrate these crimes, so if he was convicted, it would be the threshold for Brazil’s civilization. In a country shaped by a coup, it would be the first time someone was sent to prison to promote a promotion.” She continued, “It’s interesting that we are changing places with the United States, in some way. The United States has promoted a Brazilian military coup. [of 1964]but now Brazil is the first country to really defeat this neofascism, and the United States shows that it can’t do anything to its coup and even elected Donald Trump again. ”
I asked Costa what would happen if Bolsonaro was convicted. Will the army of believers take to the streets? Will Bolsonaro followers attack the Capitol again? She admits that the situation remains “fragile” and that the risk of an uprising seems dangerous. “Many of us are afraid to return to 1964,” she said. Meanwhile, Trump’s efforts to impose decrees backfire. In at least some parts of Brazilian society, tariffs and bullying rhetoric have made people more persistent in seeking justice in their own way. Almost anything can happen in Costa Rica, let’s see what the drama of Brazilian life is for us. ” ♦
Health & Wellness Contributor
A wellness enthusiast and certified nutrition advisor, Meera covers everything from healthy living tips to medical breakthroughs. Her articles aim to inform and inspire readers to live better every day.
