Will forty years pay for Bolsonaro?

What begins today is not a great day for Brazilian democracy—even though, at first glance, it may seem so. The trial of Jair Bolsonaro for attempted coup d'état and criminal organization against the institutions does not account for the extent of the disaster he represented for the country. The question that echoes is: would only forty years in prison be enough to repair the historical disservice of his government?

Because we are talking about much more than an attack on the Supreme Court, a conspiracy against electronic voting machines, or the criminal incitement of the January 8th protests. Bolsonarism was a project of systematic corrosion of public life, ethics, and hope. It was the sabotage of science in the midst of a pandemic, with campaigns against vaccines and masks, boycotting the purchase of immunizations, encouraging gatherings, and promoting placebos like chloroquine—all this in the face of 700 deaths. It was the criminal negligence in the Yanomami tragedy, the record destruction of the Amazon, the encouragement of illegal mining and land grabbing.

It was also the systematic practice of corruption and privilege: the Saudi jewelry scandal, illegal sales of official gifts, secret budget, kickbacks, nepotism, and the illicit enrichment of an entire family protected by those in power. Add to that the glorification of the military dictatorship, the defense of torture, racist statements, misogyny against journalists and women, LGBTphobia, prejudice against people from the Northeast of Brazil, the arming of the population, contempt for a free press, and the persecution of culture, science, and universities.

Bolsonaro was not just a president who failed: he was a project of destruction. A project that normalized hunger, increased poverty, made life more precarious, and eroded the pillars of democracy.

Therefore, the imprisonment itself does not end the discussion. What Brazil needs to answer is whether we are willing to treat Bolsonaro as an isolated figure—or as a symptom of a politics of hate that still echoes in the streets, in the temples, in the offices, and on social media. If it's only about him, 40 years may seem sufficient. But if it's about what he represents, perhaps we are still only at the beginning of a long and necessary historical reparation.