Brazil Steps Into a Post‑Bolsonaro Phase
On July 7 2023 Jair Bolsonaro finished his term as the nation’s 38th president, closing a four‑year chapter that began in 2019. His departure leaves the country to a successor who must steer a Brazil marked by a period of national conservatism and a pro‑market economic agenda.
Origins of the Bolsonaro Project
The 2018 campaign that brought him to power pledged a rupture with the traditional political class. In office he delivered on several fronts: he pushed economically liberal reforms, opened state‑controlled sectors to private investment and trimmed regulations. At the same time his tenure deepened political cleavages that persist beyond his exit.
The electorate that backed Bolsonaro is not a marginal group. It consists of voters who supported a former army officer who served 27 years in the federal Chamber of Deputies.
Early in his military career, as a young officer, he was arrested and held for 15 days after writing a magazine article that criticised military pay. That 1986 incident turned him into a public figure and forged an identity as an outsider ready to challenge institutions. That outsider image shaped a confrontational approach to power.
Bolsonaro rarely sought compromise or broad coalitions. His national‑conservative message appealed to Brazilians who wanted a firmer hand on security and a return to traditional values, while critics warned of an erosion of democratic norms.
The result is a polarized electorate that now must look for common ground without him at the helm. Business circles praised his pro‑market stance, which reduced the state’s role in certain industries and included a pension‑reform push. Yet economic growth stayed uneven and poverty remained a challenge.
Internationally, the Amazon attracted heightened scrutiny during his watch, making environmental policy a flashpoint. The incoming administration must decide whether to stay on this economic track or chart a different course.
Bolsonaro’s background as a military officer—he entered service in 1973 and graduated from the Military Academy of Agulhas Negras in 1977—coloured his view of national security, emphasizing order and defence. He filled civilian posts with active and retired military personnel, altering the culture of ministries and agencies. Reversing that imprint will require time, and the expanded military role in government remains a legacy that outlasts his presidency.
Before his national rise, Bolsonaro was elected to Rio de Janeiro’s Municipal Chamber in 1988 and then spent almost three decades in the federal Chamber of Deputies representing the state. That lengthy tenure made him a fixture in Brazilian politics, giving him an insider’s knowledge even as he campaigned against the establishment.
The new government will face a congress populated by many of his allies and former colleagues. At 68 years old, born in Glicério, São Paulo on March 21 1955, Bolsonaro has spent most of his adult life in public service or politics. He continues to draw crowds and command media attention, despite ongoing legal inquiries into his administration’s conduct. He has not receded from public life, and his presence will continue to shape Brazilian debates, whether from a position of influence or from the sidelines.
Brazil now must govern without him. The nation he leaves is more divided, more economically liberalised and more security‑conscious than the one he inherited.
Managing these realities will be the central task for his successor, as the Bolsonaro era ends but its consequences remain.
