Bolsonarista swag

What the Brazilian extreme right can cop at a conservative conference

Last month, I attended the fifth instalment of CPAC Brasil, in the city of Balneário Camboriú. This is an import from US American political culture, and those letters stand for “Conservative Political Action Conference,” rather than anything in Portuguese. I covered the event as part of a long New York Times Magazine investigation, which was published yesterday.

But — I hear you asking — what can you buy there? What is the gear like. What do Bolsonaristas purchase to take home, or to wear over the long weekend? I would say that, by far, the most popular item was an Israeli flag — either alongside or mixed together with the more obvious Brazilian flag. Attendees wrapped them around their bodies, like capes, throughout the conference. There was a popular version (pictured above) with a mix of Brazil, Israel, and a big lion.

The affinity is not new; this is not a post-October-7th phenomenon. From 2016 to 2020 in Brazil, the easiest way to tell that you were approaching an extreme-right rally was to see, in the distance, a crowd waving US flags, Brazilian flags, and Israeli flags. Biden’s election made automatic association with the United States a little more complicated, but Bolsonarismo’s love for Israel is deep and enduring.

First, there is the evangelical Christian belief — as there is in the United States — that Israel will play an important role in the end of the world. Jair Bolsonaro was baptized there in 2016. But more importantly, I think, is that the Bolsonaros love Israel for being a heavily armed, militant, nationalist project. They love the unapologetically right-wing government and the commitment to the violent settlement of all the territory it controls. Stretching the analogy a bit, the Bolsonaros view the Amazon the way that Israeli settlers view Palestine.

You could get an Elon Musk t-shirt! This is new, and I think the logic should be clear. Bolsonaristas see Musk as a right-wing business man who has clawed Twitter back from the woke mafia and is willing to fight the persecution of the right in Brazil.

Unsure about the quality of Bolsonaro Reserve wine. Note that they believe in gender— the pink rosé is named after First Lady Michelle, rather than President Jair.

“Nada Easy — Step by step, how I combined management, innovation, and creativity to bring my company to 35 countries in four years.” Mostly, the books on sale at CPAC 2024 were written by Olavo de Carvalho, but this one checks a lot of Bolsonarista boxes. First, they love entrepreneurship. Secondly, the incorporation of English into Portuguese is widely associated with the right, unless it is deployed with carefully calibrated irony. Whether a Republican or Democrat is in the White House, only the right likes the United States in Brazil. And third, the author of this book famously declared that he does not hire leftists.

Speakers at CPAC Brasil 2024 included right-wing figures from Chile, Hungary, El Salvador, Portugal, the Netherlands and of course, the United States of America. Argentine President Javier Milei showed up and put on his usual show. But the weekend opened and closed with the Bolsonaro family.

Coming back one day I found that someone, apparently the União da Juventude Comunista — Partido Comunista Revolucionário had spray-painted “FORA NAZI” or “GET OUT NAZI” on a wall outside the convention center. They quickly covered it up.