Jair Bolsonaro confirmed as presidential candidate for reelection

Based on a unanimous decision, the Liberal Party made official this Sunday (Jul. 24) the candidacy of President Jair Bolsonaro for reelection, and General Braga Netto as his intended vice president in the October elections in Brazil.

At the party convention at Maracanãzinho stadium, in Rio de Janeiro, Bolsonaro spoke about difficulties experienced during three and a half years of his government. “We had to face a pandemic, a war that hasn’t ended yet, a drought that we hadn’t seen for a long time. We seek measures to alleviate the suffering of our people. Some say that I haven’t looked after the poorest. In 2020, when everyone was told to stay home, I said we had to fight the virus, but without destroying our economy. Informal workers were forced to stay at home and starve”.

“Every day when I get up, I have a routine. I kneel down and say the Lord’s Prayer. I ask that the Brazilian people never experience the pain of communism. I ask for strength to resist, and the courage to make the right decisions. Many times I try to understand how I got here. In this country, when we believe, our dreams come true,” Bolsonaro said.

Among the guests, there were several leaders and pre-candidates for various positions, such as the governor of Rio de Janeiro Claudio Castro, and the president of the Chamber of Deputies Arthur Lira (PP-AL). Only Bolsonaro and First Lady Michelle Bolsonaro made a speech.

Profile

Jair Messias Bolsonaro is a retired military Army captain. He is the 38th president of Brazil since January 1, 2019. He was a federal deputy for Rio de Janeiro between 1991 and 2018. He was born in 1955, in Glicério, in the state of São Paulo, and has lived in several cities in São Paulo state. He graduated from Agulhas Negras Military Academy in 1977. He served in the Army’s field artillery and parachute groups. He is the father of five children.

Walter Souza Braga Netto was born in Belo Horizonte, Minas state, in 1957. He is a retired Army general. Between February 2018 and January 2019, he headed the military federal intervention in Rio de Janeiro. He was an Eastern Military Commander until February 2019, when he became the head of the Army General Staff. In February 2020, he was appointed Presidential Chief of Staff. In March 2021, he was nominated Minister of Defence.