The agony of the Bolsonaro government: arrests, fiasco, retaliation, and an orange frame.

By Mauro Lopes, editor of 247 and of Journalists for Democracy - This Tuesday, January 22nd, marks a turning point in the tragicomic political agony of the Bolsonaro government. An astonishing succession of events marked the day, but the iconic image of the government's agony is a photograph. That's just how it is. An image, a photograph, a short film sometimes has the power to condense a whole range of events and meanings. The image of the end of the government is simplistic, like Bolsonaro. It evokes his detachment from the world around him. It expresses the self-absorption that cultivates hatred and sees conspiracies and attacks everywhere. It is the symbol of his isolation. A prosaic photo of Bolsonaro having lunch in a supermarket cafeteria in Davos. As journalist Jamil Chade, one of the most respected foreign correspondents born in Brazil, observed in a tweet: "3,5 participants and 70 heads of state and government. But Bolsonaro having lunch alone in Davos."

 3,5 participants and 70 heads of state and government. But Bolsonaro having lunch alone in Davos. pic.twitter.com/yeYvUAOAOh

— Jamil Chad (@JamilChade) January 22, 2019

The color of the wall in the background of the photo – orange – couldn't be more illustrative of one of the vectors of Bolsonaro's agony. Elected with a furious discourse against corruption, the president and his clan – his sons Flávio, Eduardo, and Carlos, plus his wife Michelle – were caught in one of the most despicable slush fund schemes on record. Everything is orange in the scheme, which is operated by a former military policeman accused, among other things, of executing people in the outskirts of Rio, Fabrício Queiroz. The orange in the background is the perfect frame for the clan's scheme.

From the orange wall to the podium at the World Economic Forum in Davos, it was only a few blocks. The background color during the speech was blue, but the orange wall seemed to follow Bolsonaro. An epitaph-like speech. The collegiate, elementary address caused astonishment in the community and the international press. Eight of the most embarrassing minutes in the country's history. 

Bolsonaro delivers a superficial speech filled with fake news in Davos. https://t.co/MvQVCDyN72

— Brasil 247 (@brasil247) January 22, 2019

The speech about the orange wall took place amidst the deafening noise of the arrests of militiamen directly linked to the Bolsonaro clan and accused of involvement in the assassination of Marielle Franco and Anderson Gomes. It's all sordid, violent, and utterly marginal. All the arrested militiamen operated in Rio das Pedras, in the western zone of Rio, the main stronghold of the Bolsonaro clan, where they acted openly – both the clan and the militiamen. Similar in everything, incredibly alike in terms of trajectory, language, and even mannerisms and physical profile. The country discovers this Tuesday something that was already known behind the scenes – the military, the politicians, the elites knew it: the Bolsonaro clan has visceral ties with the paramilitary militiamen. It became unsustainable.

In an international arena, Davos, while Bolsonaro raved about guaranteeing that "our international relations will be revitalized by Minister Ernesto Araújo, implementing a policy in which ideological bias will cease to exist," the Forum's hall was invaded by the unpleasant smell of chickens. Thousands, millions of chickens invaded the hall clucking: "And now, Bolsonaro, and now, Bolsonaro, and now, Bolsonaro?" Saudi Arabia had just announced retaliation for the Bolsonaro-Araújo duo's decision to break with the pragmatic and pacifist tradition of Brazilian foreign policy towards the Middle East and align themselves with Netanyahu and Trump. The Arabs are furious, and the Bolsonaro adventure will not go unpunished: "Saudi Arabia's decision to decertify five Brazilian meatpacking plants that export to the country, announced this Tuesday, the 22nd, is retaliation against Jair Bolsonaro's government, due to the decision to transfer the Brazilian embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem," stated Amr Moussa, former Secretary-General of the Arab League (an organization that brings together 22 Arab countries), in Davos. "The Arab world is furious (with Brazil)," said Moussa, one of the most influential Middle Eastern diplomats in the region. - this information, once again, comes from the respected Jamil Chade.

Meanwhile, what did the Bolsonaro government's "moral reserve" do this Tuesday? Yes, none other than Sérgio Moro. After traveling to Davos happily fraternizing with Bolsonaro while the president instructed his son Flávio on yet another of the dozens of fabricated stories he has been spreading since Sunday, the vigilante, so talkative and fierce as a lion against the PT and Lula, meowed like a kitten at a table in the Forum. "It's not up to me to comment on that," said Moro—and what is it up to the Minister of Justice to comment on, while the country is boiling with news of the presidential clan's scheme and the arrest of the militiamen linked to the Bolsonaros?

In Davos, the agony of the Bolsonaro government took on definitive colors. And it is orange with splashes of red—not the color of the PT (Workers' Party), but the blood of Marielle and Anderson. 

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