Bolsonarism

Bolsonarism (bolsonarismo in Portuguese) is a far-right political^[1][2][3][4] phenomenon that broke out in Brazil with the rise in popularity of Jair Bolsonaro, especially during his campaign in the presidential election in Brazil in 2018, which elected him president. The Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT) crisis during the Dilma Rousseff government, precipitated and accelerated by the political-economic crisis of 2014, strengthened Bolsonarist ideology and the Brazilian new right, which are part of the context of the rise of New Right populism at an international level.^[5][6]

Bolsonarism was the predominant ideology of the Bolsonaro government and is associated with rhetoric defending the family, patriotism, conservatism, religion and authoritarianism, neo-fascist elements, anti-communism, scientific denialism, carrying weapons, rejection of human rights and the aversion to the political left, as well as the cult of the figure of Bolsonaro, often called a "myth".^[4][7] The writer Olavo de Carvalho is often cited as having been the guru of the Bolsonarist ideology.^{[8][9][10][11][12]}

Although former president Jair Bolsonaro defines his government as "free from ideological constraints",^[13] he does not recognize Bolsonarism as an ideology, his followers — pejoratively called "Bolsominions" — diverge between those who agree with Bolsonaro^[14] and those who flaunt the term to express their political position.^[15]

Bolsonarism has attracted several followers and fanatics, who, in the name of Jair Bolsonaro or based on his ideas, have carried out several extremist attacks and terrorist acts such as 2023 Brazilian Congress attack and the 2024 Brasília attack.^{[16][17][18][19][20][21][22]}