Please try another search
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro reacts at an event at the Municipal Theatre in Sao Paulo, Brazil March 25, 2024. REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli/File Photo
By Anderson Coelho
BALNEARIO CAMBORIU, Brazil (Reuters) -Brazilian far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro at a rally of conservative supporters on Saturday said the right was gaining ground internationally, in Italy and France, and said he hoped that former U.S. President Donald Trump will be returned to the White House this year.
"God willing, it will be Trump in November," he told a cheering crowd of 3,500 supporters at the CPAC Brasil 2024 event at the beach resort of Balneario Camboriu in Southern Brazil.
The event was intended to drum up support for Bolsonaro's party's candidates in this year's municipal elections and project his influence ahead of the 2026 presidential race.
The rally was billed as the first major opposition rally of the campaign for local mayoral elections in October.
"We want Bolsonaro back," chanted some at the event who want to see him back in power, although Bolsonaro has been banned from seeking elected office until 2030 for attacks on democracy.
Speakers attacked Brazil's current government of leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, calling it corrupt. They advocated Christian pro-life family values and a ban on abortion in speeches that were pro-gun and anti-drug.
"It will be very important for us to once again bring together Conservatives with a liberal view of the economy to discuss the future of the right-wing in Brazil," said former environment minister Ricardo Salles on CPAC Brasil social media.
Former Chilean right-wing presidential candidate Jose Antonio Kast addressed the rally, and Argentina's libertarian president, Javier Milei, was expected to address the closing session on Sunday afternoon.
Bolsonaro lost his re-election bid to Lula in 2022 and has been banned from running for elected office until 2030 due to his attacks on Brazilian democracy and its electronic voting system.
Despite being under investigation for his alleged role in encouraging supporters to storm government buildings a week after Lula took office in January last year, Bolsonaro maintains a large following that share his right-wing views, which he successfully broadcasts on social media.
With funding from his right-wing Liberal Party, Bolsonaro draws crowds wherever he goes to back candidates for the upcoming local elections.
Guilherme Casaroes, a political scientist at the FGV think tank in Sao Paulo, said the presence of Milei and Kast shows that Bolsonaro and his political associates want Brazil to become a hemispheric hub for far-right coordination.
"The CPAC event will serve as a platform for Brazil's extremists to make their narrative global, building on the idea that conservatives across the hemisphere are being persecuted by left-wing governments and by authoritarian courts," he said.
Are you sure you want to block %USER_NAME%?
By doing so, you and %USER_NAME% will not be able to see any of each other's Investing.com's posts.
%USER_NAME% was successfully added to your Block List
Since you’ve just unblocked this person, you must wait 48 hours before renewing the block.
I feel that this comment is:
Thank You!
Your report has been sent to our moderators for review
Add a Comment
We encourage you to use comments to engage with other users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind:
Enrich the conversation, don’t trash it.
Stay focused and on track. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed.
Be respectful. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically. Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user. Racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination will not be tolerated.
Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.