Mark of an era, the outgoing president Jair Bolsonaro leaves the government in these historic hours of Brazil, with some disorder, tantrums and a slamming door.
He prepared the presidential plane to travel to Orlando before this weekend but did not even notify his vice president, retired general Hamilton Mourão, about that trip nor was there hardly a call between them to coordinate what to do in the act of assumption of Lula da Silva next Sunday.
The vice maintains that his role ends on the last day of the year and will focus on his new role as senator-elect for Rio Grande do Sul. He seeks to lead a right-wing front in the chamber against the new government in Parliament. So that will not deal with the handover ceremony either of command.
Bolsonaro also refused to contribute at the last minute. a gesture of recognition of his electoral defeat that it would serve to demobilize their militants camped out in front of the barracks and who continue to demand that the military take power and prevent Lula from reaching the Planalto palace.
“I did not mobilize anything so I will not demobilize anything”he affirmed in a private dinner with his allies and a member of the Supreme Court, transcended in the Brazilian press.
The newspaper state detected that a few hours ago a delegation from the presidency arrived in the United States, which is what is usually anticipated when a president still in office travels.
Bolsonaro had denied the CNN Brazil the versions of an imminent departure to that country to meet his friend Donald Trump. “It’s fake, I won’t travel on Wednesday,” he had said. Of course, the transfer plan was foreseen In principle for this Thursday.
Heading to the United States
“An Embraer E-190 plane belonging to the Special Transport Group of the Brazilian Air Force (FAB), destined for presidential trips, landed around 9:30 in Orlando, after a technical stop in Brasilia with Bolsonaro’s advisers and security guards. They left Brasília around midnight this Wednesday”, stated the portal of the prestigious São Paulo daily.
It is a clear indication that the trip that was already reported last week was on its way to materializing. According to officials at the Planalto Palace, the precursor team usually arrives at least 24 hours before than the president in international travel, in time to arrange the security scheme.
Bolsonaro needs overflight and landing authorization from the US government to go to the country, added officials from the area that organizes presidential trips. The arrival of the FAB plane in the US is an indication that the president has received the green light.
Bolsonaro has not expressed any interest in participating in the transfer ceremony. But the worst thing about this improvised design is that there was no coordination so that someone with some authority represents the outgoing government in an act of this importance.
The right-wing leader, who until now has publicly only accepted the transfer of command, but not his electoral defeat, Nor did he notify Mourão of his intention to settle for a while in the United States at the residence of Donald Trump, in Florida, where one of his children is already.
As soon as the president leaves Brazilian airspace aboard the presidential Airbus, the FAB’s VC-1, Mourão will automatically become interim president. Estadao was able to verify that there was not “a single phone call between them” to organize what remains.
But since the vice president has no interest in handing over the presidential sash to the new president, he has clarified that his executive functions inevitably conclude on December 31. That is, the Sunday of the ceremony will be only one legislator.
the tantrums
It is disorder he had a recent history of tantrums and new installments of the president’s merciless fury over the election loss. There was a major attempt by the president’s allies to convince him to make a public announcement of recognition of Lula’s victory so as to turn off the protests coup leaders of his supporters against the assumption of the new government.
The most serious attempt occurred at a dinner that was also attended by the Supreme Court minister, José Antonio Dias Toffoli. The details of that meeting were widely reported in the country’s press. There a last ditch effort was made to try to convince him that an admission of defeat it would ease the tension with the radical Bolsonaristas.
Bolsonaro exempted himself from responsibility and said that “he did not mobilize anything, so he will not demobilize anything,” reported the DCM news portal. However, he promised those present that I wouldn’t do “any adventures” in relation to the end of his term.
Another request that was made to the president at that time was to pay Brazil’s debt with international organizations, obligations that date back to the days of the failed governments of Dilma Rousseff, which was announced by Itamaraty this week.
The dinner took place at the house of the then Minister of Communications, Deputy Fábio Faria of the Progressive Party, an ally of the outgoing government. The meeting was organized as a “farewell scene” from Bolsonaro.
Despite having been appointed by Lula da Silva to the Supreme Court, Toffoli always maintained a friendly relationship with the former captain when he presided over the Court, between 2018 and 2020. Here it is recalled that this magistrate was the one who prevented the PT leader from attending his brother’s funeral when he was in prison convicted of passive corruption.
Bolsonaro’s refusal to ease the tension adds further fears of incidents occurring during the inauguration or even in the following days. The police have already defused an attempted terrorist attack and arrested its perpetrators, radical Bolsonaristas who said they were willing to prevent in any way the establishment of the new government.
This Thursday, the security forces made a series of arrests of far-right activists who on the 12th of this month burned two dozen vehicles in Brasilia and 5 buses in the same hours that Lula da Silva received from the hands of justice the diplomas that accredited his electoral victory.
Brasilia. Special delivery