Brazil election 2022: who is Jair Bolsonaro? Age, wife, education, climate policies, controversies - explained

Brazilians will once again have to head to the polls after a tight election saw neither Jair Bolsonaro or Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva get the 50% needed to form a government.

The pair had been facing off in a tense election that saw Brazil divided against the two candidates.

Bolsonaro became President of Brazil in 2019, however his term has been shrouded in controversy from his treatment of the Covid-19 pandemic to his policies on the Amazon rainforest.

So, who is Jair Bolsonaro? Here’s everything you need to know.

Who is Jair Bolsonaro?

Bolsonaro is the 39th President of Brazil. He was elected in 2018 winning 55.1% of the votes against Fernando Haddad.

The former military officer had previously been a councillor and federal deputy for Rio de Janeiro as a member of the Social Christan Party, however in 2018 he switched to the right wing Social Liberal Party (PSL) who then nominated him for the presidency.

Originally from Glicério, Bolsonaro grew up with parents and his five brothers around Sao Paulo.

Whilst campaigning for the presidency in 2018, he was stabbed in the abdomen whilst campaigning in Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais. Bolsonaro spent a month in the hospital and the attacker was arrested and named as Adélio Bispo de Oliveira.

During Bolsonaro’s first campaign for presidency there was growing concern about his language and right wing policies, leading him to be dubbed the “Trump of the Tropics.”

How old is Jair Bolsonaro?

Bolsonaro was born on 1 March, 1955 making him 67-years-old.

Who is Jair Bolsonaro married to?

Bolsonaro has been married three times and has five children.

He married his first wife, Rogéria Nantes Braga in 1978 and divorced her in 1997 with the couple having three sons: Flávio, Carlos and Eduardo, all three are now politicians like their father.

He married his second wife Ana Cristina Valle in 1997, with the couple divorcing in 2007, they share one son named Renan.

His third and current wife is Michelle de Paula Firmo Reinaldo, who he married in 2007, the couple share a daughter called Laura.

What is his education?

After his final year of high school in 1973, Bolsonaro enrolled at the Escola Preparatória de Cadetes do Exército which is the prep school for the Brazilian military.

The following year he attended Brazil’s military accademy Academia Militar das Agulhas Negras, graduating as an Artillery officer in 1977.

What is his policy on climate change and the Amazon rainforest?

Since Bolsonaro came to power in 2019, there have been growing concerns about his policies on climate change and the Amazon rainforest.

According to the Council on Foreign Relations, deforestation has reached a “tipping point” due to illegal logging, with Bolsonaro’s government scaling back law enforcement.

This has impacted Indigenous communities, with over 305 cases of illegal occupation of Indigenous land recorded in 2021.

Why is Bolsonaro so controversial?

Bolsonaro has proved to be a controversial politician, with many of his statements on issues from gender equality to the Covid-19 pandemic drawing condemnation.

Gender Equality

In 2014 he told he told federal deputy Maria do Rosario at the chamber of deputies that “I wouldn’t rape you because you don’t deserve it” whilst in another interview in 2017 he commented on the birth of his only daughter saying: “I’ve got five kids but on the fifth I had a moment of weakness and it came out a woman.”

He has also made statements that he wouldn’t pay a woman the same wage as a man and in 2000, he made comments about thoughts of violence towards his ex-wife saying: “I never beat my ex-wife. But I thought of shooting her various times.”

LGTBQ+

Bolsonaro has made many troubling comments about the gay community. In 2011, he said he would “rather his son die in a car accident than be gay” and in 2002 he talked about using violence saying: “I’m not going to combat or discriminate, but if I see two men kissing on the street, I’m going to hit them.”

Covid-19

During the Covid-19 pandemic Bolsonaro downplayed the virus claiming it was no more deadlier than “the flu”.

His administration prioritised economic recovery over Covid, leading Brazil’s death rate to hit 686,036.

Human Rights

In 1999 Bolsonaro said he was “in favour” of torture, whilst in a speech in 2000 he added: “I defend torture. A drug dealer who acts on the streets against our children must to be immediately put on a pau-de-arara (torture device).”

Birth control

In 2008 Bolsonaro provoked outrage after he promoted the sterilisation of Brazil’s poor population.

He said: “We need to adopt a rigid birth control policy... People who aren’t prepared to have children, shouldn’t have them...

“Methods have to be provided for those who, unfortunately, are ignorant and have no means to control their offspring because we are able to control ours. Poor people don’t control.”