"Brazil first of all. Brazil above all."
The former right-wing president, Jair Bolsonaro, repeats the slogan again and again, before greeting the tens of thousands of adoring supporters who arrived from all over the country, to show him once again that he is not alone, that despite all the investigations and accusations, can still argue against their support.
"The army of God" defines it as the former primeira dama, "men and women who seek freedom".
The image of the green-gold snake, dotted with Israeli flags, crowding Paulista Avenue is impressive, and conveys the image of a country still divided, a perfect reflection of the polls which reveal that polarization is more than a year old since the elections you continue to dominate the political scene in the South American giant.
Video Brazil, tens of thousands in Sao Paulo for Bolsonaro
"I am persecuted", the sovereignist leader vents.
"I was when I was the head of state and today I am even more so" he insists, explaining that he has never plotted against democracy.
"They said I wanted to carry out a coup. What is a coup: weapons, conspiracies, bringing entrepreneurs and the political class to one's side - he questions -. None of this has been done. They say this on the basis of the draft of a decree for the State defense. But what kind of coup? Using the Constitution? But never mind, it is Parliament that decides in these cases."
Without cross-examination, from his popular platform, and thanks to the presence of governors and parliamentarians, Bolsonaro seems like a river in flood.
"There are those who know that I could speak", warns the sovereignist, but "what I want is a moment of pacification. To be able to live in peace" and calls for an amnesty" for those who attacked the buildings of democracy on 8 January 2023. "Those who looted and devastated, which we don't agree with, should pay" but the current penalties "go beyond all reasonableness", he flatters.
In his speech, Bolsonaro avoids calling his opponents by name, limiting himself to talking about an "evil that will not last forever".
"We can still do a lot for our homeland. Freedom is the main good, but it is like a great love, we must take care of it every day" he urges.
Because, he summarizes, indicating the direction: "this square is a photograph of the determination of Brazilians. And we do not want socialism, we cannot admit communism. We do not want gender ideology. We are for respect for private property and for the possibility of defend our lives. But we have to work on it."
Then Bolsonaro, the ineligible one, deprived of his passport and at risk of arrest, greets his supporters with a prayer, certain that he has given the proof of strength he was looking for.
A capital that the right-wing leader could also try to spend as a shield, to avoid prison, under penalty of breaking out in new disorders.
A success that does not sound like good news for the head of state, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, still in the storm after the diplomatic crisis with Israel, while on the horizon are the local elections in October, which will see the contest for key positions , from the mayor of Rio de Janeiro to that of Sao Paulo, and considered an important test for the 2026 presidential elections.
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