Jair Bolsonaro

Jair Messias Bolsonaro (ʒaˈiʁ meˈsi.ɐz bowsoˈnaɾu or ʒaˈiɾ; born 21 March 1955) is a Brazilian politician and retired military officer, serving as the 38th President of Brazil since 1 January 2019. He served in the country's Chamber of Deputies, representing the state of Rio de Janeiro, between 1991 and 2018. He currently is a member of the conservative Social Liberal Party. Bolsonaro was born in the small town of Glicério, in the northwest area of the state of São Paulo. He graduated from the Agulhas Negras Military Academy in 1977 and served in the Brazilian Army's field artillery and parachutist groups. He became known to the public in 1986, when he wrote an article for Veja magazine criticizing low wages for military officers, after which he was arrested and detained for fifteen days. One year later he was accused by the same magazine of planning to plant bombs in military units, which he denied. After a first degree conviction, he ended up acquitted by the Brazilian Supreme Military Court in 1988. He joined the reserve army in 1988 with the rank of Captain and ran for the Rio de Janeiro City Council that same year, being elected while a member of the Christian Democratic Party. Bolsonaro was elected in 1990 to the lower chamber of Congress and was subsequently re-elected six times. During his 27-year tenure as a congressman, he became known for his strong support of national conservatism. He is a vocal opponent of same-sex marriage and homosexuality, abortion, affirmative action, drug liberalization and secularism. In foreign policy, he has advocated closer relations to the United States and Israel. During the 2018 presidential campaign, he started to advocate for economic liberal and pro-market policies. A polarizing and controversial politician, his views and comments, which have been described as far-right and populist in nature, have drawn both praise and criticism in Brazil. Bolsonaro announced his pre-candidacy for president in March 2016 as a member of the Social Christian Party. However, he left the party in 2018 and joined the Social Liberal Party, which launched his presidential campaign in August 2018 with retired general Hamilton Mourão as his running mate. He portrays himself as an outsider and a supporter of family values. He came in first place in the first round of the general election on 7 October 2018, with Workers' Party candidate Fernando Haddad coming in second place. The two candidates faced a run-off on 28 October 2018, and Bolsonaro was elected with 55.1% of the vote.