Why are Bolsonaro supporters ashamed of Bolsonaro?

By Moisés Mendes, for 247 

The activist, who can still be called a hardcore Bolsonaro supporter, sees vitality in Bolsonaro, even when the guru is exposed by his family in derogatory photos, lying prostrate in a hospital bed in Orlando.

But the occasional Bolsonaro supporter, who had to join Bolsonaro out of necessity and electoral effort, doesn't trust him much and doesn't want his personal image linked to that of the man whom even Valdemar Costa Neto no longer protects.

A large part of Bolsonaro's supporters are ashamed of Bolsonaro. Flags carried on their backs and displayed in the windows of houses and apartments (which are becoming increasingly scarce) don't reflect Bolsonaro's image.

The election campaign in the streets was conducted without Bolsonaro's face or name. The flag serves as a crutch for militarized 'nationalism,' which is fascist, but not necessarily Bolsonarist.

Bolsonarism, which according to Datafolha represents 25% of the electorate, can be perceived in several layers. And there are overlapping layers of Bolsonarists who claim to be loyal, but are wavering.

If it weren't for that, patriots and fools camped out in barracks would show Bolsonaro. Very few, extremely few, would wear the t-shirt with the idol's face on it.

Those camped out were asking for the military, not for Bolsonaro to remain in power. And many of those who called for military intervention knew that the generals only refrained from acting because they didn't feel safe alongside a delusional man who was deluding fools into believing he was in contact with Martians.

The man who destroyed João VI's clock in the Palácio do Planalto, and who was wearing a t-shirt with Bolsonaro's face on it, is the classic "manezinho" (a term for someone from Florianópolis) of explicit Bolsonarism.

But the average fool who never gets arrested, and all the big fascists, don't wear t-shirts with Bolsonaro's face on them, they rarely have.

Not even during the street protests of the pandemic, when the right tried to counter the marches of the left, was Bolsonaro shown.

The image displayed on t-shirts, banners, and posters was that of Sergio Moro, who would later become an enemy.

The increasingly confused Bolsonaro supporter now faces the dilemma of remaining by the side of a man who has fled, while relatives and friends are imprisoned or returning home with ankle monitors.

Bolsonaro was abandoned by the military and may have maintained, in a perfunctory and silent manner, the support of the generals from his own group.

The Liberal Party (PL) doesn't want anything to do with Bolsonaro. Major coup plotters from the center are flocking to Lula, along with wealthy, 'repentant' coup-plotting businessmen. Cowardice has its rationale.

There's no reason to side with Bolsonaro if we don't even know if he'll return from the United States and if he's healthy enough to pretend to lead anyone.

Bolsonaro still enjoys the support of the bloc he elected (which wouldn't have been elected without him and the huge sums of money from the secret budget) and should be able to count on the compassion of greater figures, such as Tarcísio de Freitas.

Tarcísio wouldn't exist without Bolsonaro, but he may cease to exist if he continues with Bolsonaro. It's like a drowning octopus's embrace, with tentacles pulling down anyone nearby.

Bolsonaro may cease to exist as a political figure while he is in the United States, because he will be devoured by those who will try to take his place.

When he returns to Brazil, if he returns, he will be an Eduardo Cunha or at most an Aécio Neves. But Aécio was never arrested.

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