Jair Bolsonaro landed in the Brazilian capital, Brasilia, around 12 noon, BST. Unlike three months ago, he did not take a military plane, but rather a commercial flight. Several hundred supporters greeted him at the airport in Brasilia, but apparently they never got to see him there, or at least not for long. A little later, he went to the headquarters of his liberal party, where he was also met by his supporters.
Bolsonaro has never really gone out in public. His supporters at the headquarters of the Liberal Party only saw him waving his head through the window. The former president addressed the audience in the building. “Those who are in power now, not for long, will not be able to do what they want with the country,” he told his party colleagues, as evidenced on social media. “We have 20 seats (in parliament) and we have allies in other parties. We are the majority and we want the best for our country,” he added.
To prevent wrongdoing in the city itself, hundreds of officers were called in and Ministries Square was closed. The government was certainly not impressed by the reception of the former president. According to a minister from Lula’s government, fewer people took to the streets than the police expected. He described the reception as a “botch”, demonstrating Bolsonaro’s “weak leadership”.
