'Diminished in size': Brazilian court bans Bolsonaro from running again until 2030

30 June 2023

Admirers of far-right former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, including MAGA Republicans in the United States, have been hoping that he will run for president again and get back into office. But thanks to a ruling by Brazil's highest electoral court on Friday, June 30, Bolsonaro will not be able to run for office again until 2030.

According to Associated Press (AP) reporters Mauricio Savarese and Carla Bridi, the federal judges ruled that Bolsonaro abused his power. The decision does not permanently ban Bolsonaro from running for office again, but he is suspended from doing so until 2030. Now 68, Bolsonaro will be 75 seven years from now.

Political science professor Carlos Melo, who teaches at Insper University in São Paulo, told AP, "This decision will end Bolsonaro's chances of being president again, and he knows it. After this, he will try to stay out of jail, elect some of his allies to keep his political capital, but it is very unlikely he will ever return to the presidency."

Savarese and Bridi note that Bolsonaro can appeal the ruling to the Brazilian Supreme Court, but Brazilian journalist Thomas Traumann believes that Bolsonaro is "diminished" politically.

Traumann told AP, "There won't be a mass movement, because he (is) diminished in size. The fact that he went to Florida and didn't lead the opposition caused him to diminish in size. The leader of the opposition is clearly not Bolsonaro."

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