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Jair Bolsonaro

Jair Bolsonaro
The latest news and top stories on Jair Bolsonaro, the former president of Brazil from 2019 to 2023. In the 2022 general election, Bolsonaro lost to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and on January 8 2023, Bolsonaro's supporters stormed federal government buildings, calling for a coup d'état. A subsequent investigation revealed that Bolsonaro had planned a coup with the military to keep himself in power, and in September 2025 he was convicted and sentenced to 27 years in prison.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva addresses a campaign rally in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday. He was one of three candidates who did not show up for a televised debate on Sunday. Photo: AP
China-Latin America relations

Brazil presidential debate zeroes in on Chinese investment and US tariffs

‘What matters to Lulism is that we keep buying the finished product from China while we sell ore or sell our grain’: candidate Renan Santos.

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Americas and the Caribbean

Brazil’s Lula seeks end to ‘baseless tariffs’ in call with Trump

Americas and the Caribbean

US revokes visa of Brazil’s ambassador to Washington in escalating row

Americas and the Caribbean

At 80, Brazil’s Lula launches campaign for fourth term

Leftist icon vows to protect critical minerals from foreign control as election battle against far-right rival looms.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks at the Workers’ Party (PT) convention in Sao Paulo as he launches his campaign for a fourth presidential term. Photo: Reuters
China-Latin America relations

Trump, tariffs and ties with China at stake in Brazilian presidential race

Polls show Beijing-friendly incumbent Lula neck and neck with Washington’s favoured candidate ahead of closely watched October election.

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China-Latin America relations

China vows to defend Brazil’s sovereignty as Trump’s 25% tariff bites

Wang Yi tells Brazilian foreign minister Beijing backs Brazil’s sovereignty, and asks for support on ‘China’s own core interests’ in return.

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China-Latin America relations

A year into Trump’s tariffs, Brazil trades less with US and more with China

Trading report lands as USTR weighs extra 25 per cent levy and Flavio Bolsonaro tells hearing that Lula ‘licks China’s boots’.

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A worker washes coffee beans at a plantation near Pocos de Caldas, Brazil. Brazilian coffee exporters now sell most of their produce to Europe. Photo: AP
Brazil

US targeting of drug gangs seen as attempt to shake up Brazil’s election

Analysts say Trump’s designation of PCC and Red Command is a political boost for Flavio Bolsonaro ahead of October vote.

Brazil

Jailed banker ties roil Flavio Bolsonaro’s Brazil presidential hopes

Bolsonaro’s poll numbers take a hit from scandal over disgraced banker Daniel Vorcaro’s US$24 million film funding pledge.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva

Brazil’s Congress forces early release for jailed Bolsonaro in blow to Lula

Lawmakers override presidential veto to reduce 27-year sentence, signalling a shift in power five months before elections.

Brazil’s Congress ⁠has overturned President ⁠Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s veto on a bill ​sharply reducing former president Jair Bolsonaro’s prison sentence. Photo: AFP
United States

Former Brazil spy chief arrested by ICE in Florida

The fugitive ex-intelligence head, convicted of plotting a coup with Jair Bolsonaro, was arrested for a minor traffic ‌violation and then referred to ICE.

Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro and Alexandre Ramagem in 2024. Photo: AFP
Brazil

Brazil court grants house arrest for jailed Bolsonaro due to ill health

Judge authorises an initial 90-day medical reprieve for the former president following his hospitalisation.

Americas and the Caribbean

Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro in ICU with pneumonia

The ex-president, who is serving a 27-year sentence for an attempted coup, was moved from prison to a hospital in Brasilia.

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Brazil

Supporters of ex-president Bolsonaro rally across Brazil against Lula

Protesters in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia voiced their opposition to the current president, who faces a tough re-election bid.

Supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro take part in a protest against President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Sao Paulo, Brazil on Sunday. Photo: AP
Brazil

Brazil’s Bolsonaro sent to prison with roomier cell, more perks

Ex-president moved to a detention complex five times the size of his current room, with a kitchen and a private outdoor area.

Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro at his home last year. Photo: AP
Americas and the Caribbean

Brazil’s Lula vetoes law cutting Bolsonaro’s 27-year jail sentence

Congress has the last word, however, and can in turn reject the president’s veto.

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Americas and the Caribbean

Brazil’s Bolsonaro has brain injury after falling and hitting head in prison

The ex-president had a ‘crisis’ while sleeping in his cell, his wife said in a social media post.

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Americas and the Caribbean

Bolsonaro’s house arrest bid fails, as Brazil court rejects health claims

Brazil’s Supreme Court rejected the former president’s request, citing no health decline, so the ex-leader remains in prison.

Bolsonaro is seen at his residence in Brasilia in September 2025. Photo: AFP
Brazil

Brazil’s former president Bolsonaro has surgery to treat hiccups, wife says

Bolsonaro, 70, had been hospitalised on Wednesday for hernia surgery. In September, he was jailed for 27 years for ‍plotting a coup.

Americas and the Caribbean

Brazil’s Bolsonaro backs son’s presidential bid, undergoes hernia surgery

The former president, who is serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup, was allowed to leave prison for the operation.

China-Latin America relations

Brazil weighs visa-free entry for Chinese tourists and business travellers

Brazil saw nearly 80 per cent growth in Chinese tourists in 2024 and would join only two neighbours offering visa-free entry.

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If confirmed, the visa waiver would simplify travel for Chinese visitors to Brazil and could accelerate arrivals to destinations such as Iguazu Falls. Photo: Handout
Americas and the Caribbean

Brazil’s Lula vows to veto bill slashing Bolsonaro’s 27-year prison term

The proposed law could see the ex-president spend just over two years behind bars for an attempted coup.

Protesters rally against the sentence-reduction bill in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Sunday. Photo: EPA
Americas and the Caribbean

Brazil’s Congress passes bill to cut Bolsonaro’s 27-year prison sentence

If successful, the legislation could see Brazil’s former president serve a little over two years in prison for coup plot.

United States

Opinion | For Trump, the only communists to really dislike are those at home

The limited discussion of China in the new US national security document indicates that the US president’s focus is on domestic challenges to his authority.

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Brazil

Bolsonaro’s son says he could drop his Brazil presidency bid ‘for a price’

Flavio Bolsonaro’s announcement comes as his allies push for amnesty for his father, the jailed former president.

Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, son of Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro, in Brasilia, Brazil on Sunday. Photo: Reuters
Americas and the Caribbean

Brazil’s Bolsonaro begins 27-year prison sentence for coup attempt

Top court closes the case against Brazil’s far-right former president, who was convicted of plotting a coup after his 2022 election defeat.

Jair Bolsonaro is seen through the door of the Federal Police headquarters, where he is imprisoned, in Brasilia on Sunday. Photo: AFP
Brazil

Brazil’s top court upholds jailing of Bolsonaro after ‘attempt to flee’

Top court panel unanimously rules the former president should remain arrested after admitting he broke his ankle monitor.

Brazil

Brazil’s Bolsonaro blames ‘hallucinations’ for violating ankle monitor

Supreme Court justice ordered ex-president’s arrest after the monitor violation, following his 27-year sentence for attempting a coup.

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