Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was greeted by a crowd at the Ribeirao Preto airport, in his first public event since returning to Brazil after three months in the United States. Hundreds of supporters of the far-right leader applauded him on their feet at the airport in the inland city of Sao Paulo state. An equally large group accompanied him in a caravan of cars and motorcycles on his way to a nearby farm where he stayed, sitting in the back of a truck bed.
In a campaign-like event, supporters of the former president gathered at the airport several hours before the arrival of the leader of the Liberal Party (PL) in the early afternoon. They chanted slogans against the current president, progressive Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
“Lula, thief, your place is in prison,” they shouted, referring to convictions for corruption imposed on the leader of the Worker’s Party (PT), which were later annulled.
Supporters of the former president, many of whom did not recognize Lula da Silva’s victory in last year’s elections, also chanted slogans of conservative groups such as those in defense of the family.
Jair Bolsonaro landed in Ribeirao Preto to visit the International Agricultural Technology Fair (Agroshow) on Monday, to which he was invited by associations of rural producers, one of the sectors that benefited most from the previous government (2019-2022).
This was the first time he left Brasilia to participate in a public event since arriving in Brazil exactly 30 days ago, after three months in the United States, where he traveled one day before the end of his term.
Since March 30th, the far-right leader has only participated in an event at the headquarters of the Liberal Party, where he was proclaimed the opposition leader to Lula da Silva, and in two interrogations conducted by the Federal Police as part of the process in which he is under investigation.
The first was for the alleged attempted appropriation of some valuable jewelry he received from Saudi Arabia, and the second for allegedly encouraging the coup d’etat on January 8th when thousands of “bolsonaristas” invaded the headquarters of the Presidency, Congress, and the Federal Supreme Court, in an attempt to force a coup against Lula da Silva.
Jair Bolsonaro landed in Ribeirao Preto amid controversy caused by the decision of the organizers of the agricultural fair to invite him to the opening ceremony of the event and simultaneously withdraw the invitation to Lula da Silva’s Agriculture Minister Carlos Favaro.
The controversy forced the organizers to cancel the opening ceremony of Agrishow and the state-owned Banco do Brasil to withdraw sponsorship of the event.
Jair Bolsonaro was greeted in Ribeirao Preto by numerous lawmakers and his former ministers, such as Ricardo Salles, Mario Frias, and Marcos Pontes, who asked their followers on social media to give the former president a warm welcome.
