June 22, 2023
A powerful and immensely popular former right-wing American president went on trial Thursday, and it’s not Donald Trump. Jair Bolsonaro, who led Brazil from 2018 until he narrowly lost to his left-wing nemesis “Lula” da Silva in 2022, faces charges that he unfairly sought to sway voters in that election with baseless claims about problems with the country’s voting system.
If Bolsonaro is found guilty of that charge next week, as many expect he will be, he’ll be banned from holding public office for eight years. Keep an eye on the streets if that happens, as Bolsonaro is the country’s most powerful opposition leader, and his supporters already view the country’s political institutions as hopelessly rigged against him.
But in the longer term, even if he is sidelined from contesting the presidency directly in 2026, he’ll remain a powerful kingmaker in a deeply polarized country.
From Your Site Articles
More For You
Medical workers treat injured people at Ameth Bek hospital after a drone strike on a market in the disputed Abyei region along the border between South Sudan and Sudan, October 19, 2026.
REUTERS/Medecins Sans Frontieres
South Sudan is accusing neighboring Sudan of launching a drone strike that killed at least 73 people at a market in Abyei, a disputed, oil-rich region of roughly 4,000 square miles claimed by both countries.
Most Popular
- YouTube
In this Quick Take, Ian Bremmer says President Donald Trump's approach to the war in Ukraine is putting more pressure on President Volodymyr Zelensky and raising concerns among European allies about the future of NATO.
Protesters set up barricades and burn materials near Place de la Republique in Paris, France, on October 18, 2026, the day following a large demonstration.
Jerome Gilles via Reuters Connect
Ongoing student protests in France descended into looting and riots over the weekend as more than half a million people took to the streets across the country.
After his father was killed in a plane crash in 2023, Pavel was tapped to lead Wagner.
© 2025 GZERO Media. All Rights Reserved | A Eurasia Group media company.