Brazil in the election campaign: Bolsonaro wants to demonstrate strength

200 years of Brazilian independence: President Bolsonaro has big plans for this day – because there are only a few weeks left until the presidential election. Eight hours of military activities are planned at Copacabana.

It was an unusual guest that Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro received with state honors at the end of August: the heart of Emperor Dom Pedro, the first, laid out in a golden urn soaked in formaldehyde. “Two countries, united by history, united by heart. Two hundred years of independence, and before us: an eternity of freedom,” said Bolsonaro upon the relic’s arrival.

The monarch’s heart is on loan from Portugal on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of Brazil’s independence on September 7th – it was Dom Pedro I who broke the former colony from the mother country in 1822 with the famous “Call of Ipiranga”. Some historians speak of a sham: After all, this enabled the noble family to continue to rule Brazil as an empire for almost 70 years.

nationalism and grand gestures

All of this may also explain why Brazil’s Independence Day has so far been under the radar. Until Bolsonaro came and proclaimed: “God, fatherland, family! Long live Portugal, long live Brazil!” By the way, Bolsonaro literally used the motto of the Portuguese dictator of the “Estado Novo”, Antonio Salazar.

No coincidence, says the historian Lucas Pedretti: “Bolsonaro and the military stir up nationalism in order to demonstrate strength. And to portray themselves as the leader and liberator of the nation, who stands in the tradition of a glorious past that never existed in this way, but serves to affirm the values ​​of an extreme right that continues to view the world through Cold War eyes”.

Fear of a coup

Last year, Bolsonaro mobilized his supporters on September 7th to protest against the Supreme Court. Now the historic date falls in the hot phase of the election campaign. According to recent polls, Bolsonaro is more than ten percentage points behind his challenger, left-wing former President Lula da Silva.

For months now, however, Bolsonaro has been fueling doubts about polls and the electronic voting system. Edinei Oliveira from Rio de Janeiro, black and openly homosexual, fears for democracy in his country. “If he doesn’t win the elections, he comes up with the story of voter fraud to stage a coup and he uses Independence Day to incite his supporters,” says Oliveira.

Sea of ​​people in yellow-green

Bolsonaro moved the 200th anniversary celebrations to Copacabana, Rio’s world-famous beach. Aerobatic team, motorcycle rally, gun salute and Bolsonaro in front of a sea of ​​yellow-green people. Local resident Ana Maria Pacheco will also put on a jersey in the national colors. She thinks the whole theory of a coup is completely exaggerated. “It’s going to be wonderful,” she says, “and it’s a good moment. The economy is growing again, unemployment is falling and so is inflation. I think Bolsonaro is a good president.”

Vanderlei Alves, an employee of the semi-state oil company Petrobras, feels cornered by the media discourse. He says the left is trying to distract from its own mistakes: “The left, who only stole and were corrupt during their reign, want to go back to power. That’s the threat. And they control the electoral authorities, that’s why I trust them not the system.”

Brazil is politically deeply divided

Brazil, for example, is experiencing deep political divisions in its 200th year of independence. As a result, society is also missing the opportunity to reflect on its own history, says Pedretti. “200 years is a strong date to discuss historical responsibility in terms of slavery, violence against indigenous peoples, structural racism.”

Instead, Bolsonaro reinforces the story of the white, powerful men, the historian further explains. “A myth that doesn’t help us to construct a different future together.”