Online
Brasilia
A far-right former army captain will be sworn in as Brazil’s new president later on Tuesday.
Jair Bolsonaro, 63, won the presidential election by a wide margin against Fernando Haddad of the left-wing Workers’ Party on 28 October.
Bolsonaro was propelled to victory by his campaign promises to curb Brazil’s rampant corruption and crime.
But he has proven a deeply divisive figure whose racist, homophobic and misogynistic remarks have angered many.
Despite portraying himself as a political outsider during his campaign, Mr Bolsonaro served seven terms in Brazil’s lower house of Congress, the Chamber of Deputies, before being elected president.
He has been a member of several political parties but is currently in the Social Liberal Party (PSL), which has grown from having a tiny presence in Congress to becoming the party with the second largest number of deputies in the lower house.
Before becoming a politician, Bolsonaro served in Brazil’s military, where he was a paratrooper and rose to the rank of captain.
During his time as a lawmaker, Bolsonaro represented the interests of the armed forces and since his election he has named seven former military men to key ministries.
He has also expressed nostalgia for the time when Brazil was under military rule and the hard-line policies enforced during the period in which thousands were jailed and tortured.
He has praised that era as a “glorious period” in Brazil’s history.
Brazil only returned to democracy in 1985 after more than 20 years under military rule and some critics see his election as threat to the country’s democracy.
Since being elected, Bolsonaro has repeatedly stated that he he is committed to democracy and that he will abide by Brazil’s constitution.
But previous comments he has made endorsing the use of torture and disparaging women, gay people and Afro-Brazilians have left many Brazilians worried.
The election campaign which brought him to power has left the country deeply divided into those who see him as the man to put Brazil onto the right track after massive corruption scandals rocked the country and those who fear he could lead Brazil into an authoritarian future.
Bolsonaro’s key campaign promises were to drive down crime and to stamp out corruption, which has seen scores of top businessmen and high-ranking politicians, including former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, jailed.
In order to achieve the former, he wants to loosen laws on gun ownership so that “honest citizens” can carry arms and “protect themselves”.
On Saturday, he tweeted that he would issue a decree to allow citizens who do not have a criminal record to own guns.
Days after being elected, he picked Brazil’s most famous anti-corruption judge, Sergio Moro, as his minister of justice.
