Brazil’s new president, Jair Bolsonaro, has announced a radical new beginning in his country’s politics. He wants to „cleanse“ the government and put an end to a policy that has „brought corruption and inefficiency to Brazil,“ the ultra-right politician said on New Year’s Eve (local time) in an interview with Record TV.
He wanted to prune the government apparatus and enforce a „maximum debureaucratization,“ continued Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro’s term begins on January 1, according to the Constitution. He should be formally introduced at noon (local time) in a ceremony in office. Up to 500,000 people are expected to attend the celebration on the Esplanada dos Ministerios in the capital Brasilia.
Praise for military dictatorship
The former paratrooper and longtime MP Bolsonaro had won the presidential election in October and enjoys even now high approval ratings. 57 million Brazilians, 55 percent, had voted for the right-wing candidate in the runoff election.
Opponents denounce his racist, anti-gay and homophobic utterances as well as his blunt praise for the military dictatorship of the years 1964 to 1985. His followers see him as a kind of savior of his country, his fervent fans call him even „o mito“ (the myth).
