Jair Bolsonaro
God, country, family
Market liberalism, military order.
Traditional Right-Wing NationalistOne of 729 ideologies · enter the Right-Wing Nationalist hall →- Role
- President
- Era
- b. 1955
- Region
- Brazil
- Social band
- Traditional
- Placement
- +50 · +50 · −60
§ Where Jair Bolsonaro stands
3 axesA defender of state companies during his years in Congress, Bolsonaro adopted economic liberalism for the 2018 campaign and entrusted policy to Paulo Guedes, a Chicago-trained economist. Their government passed a 2019 pension reform raising retirement ages, gave the central bank formal autonomy in 2021 and privatised the power company Eletrobras in 2022. An election-year expansion of cash transfers in 2022 showed the limits of that liberalism.
Bolsonaro campaigned on law and order, praised the 1964–85 military regime and placed many military officers in his cabinet. From 2019 he issued decrees loosening the rules on owning and carrying guns, and he repeatedly attacked Brazil's electronic voting system without evidence; in 2023 the electoral court ruled that he had abused his office by doing so before foreign ambassadors in 2022.
His slogan, Brazil above everything, God above everyone, sealed an alliance with evangelical churches and conservative Catholics. He opposes abortion, same-sex marriage and what he calls gender ideology in schools, and in the 2016 impeachment vote against Dilma Rousseff he dedicated his vote to Colonel Carlos Alberto Brilhante Ustra, who had commanded a dictatorship-era army unit where political prisoners were tortured.
How close are you to Jair Bolsonaro?
Three statements, one per axis. Answer them and we’ll drop you on the compass next to them.
§ The story
LivingJair Messias Bolsonaro (born 1955) is a Brazilian politician who served as president from 2019 to 2022. A graduate of the Agulhas Negras military academy, he became an army artillery and paratroop officer and left active service as a captain in 1988, after disciplinary clashes over a campaign for better military pay. Elected to Rio de Janeiro's city council that year, he then served seven terms in the federal Chamber of Deputies from 1991 to 2018, known for provocative attacks on the left and praise for the 1964–85 military regime.
Running for the small Social Liberal Party, Bolsonaro survived a stabbing at a campaign rally in September 2018 and defeated the Workers' Party's Fernando Haddad. In office he pursued pension reform and privatisation, eased gun laws and played down the COVID-19 pandemic, in which Brazil recorded about 700,000 deaths. He narrowly lost to Lula in 2022 and never formally conceded; on 8 January 2023 his supporters stormed Congress, the Supreme Court and the presidential palace. The electoral court barred him from office until 2030, and in September 2025 the Supreme Federal Court convicted him of plotting a coup.
Notable for
- 01Market privatisation drive
- 02Law-and-order nationalism
- 03'God above all' platform
Key works & moments
- 1988Leaves active army service as a captain and is elected to Rio de Janeiro's city council.
- 1991Begins 28 years as a federal deputy for Rio de Janeiro in the Chamber of Deputies.
- 2016Dedicates his vote to impeach Dilma Rousseff to Colonel Ustra, who ran a dictatorship-era torture unit.
- 2018Survives a stabbing while campaigning and is elected president, defeating Fernando Haddad.
- 2023On 8 January his supporters storm Brazil's Congress, Supreme Court and presidential palace.
- 2025Convicted by the Supreme Federal Court of plotting a coup and sentenced to over 27 years.
In their own words
“Brazil above everything, God above everyone.”
§ Minds closest to Jair Bolsonaro
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§ Also in the Right-Wing Nationalist hall
Enter the hall →§ Common questions
4 answersWhat is Jair Bolsonaro's political ideology?
Jair Bolsonaro is a national-conservative populist: on the 99ideologies three-axis compass, a Traditional Right-Wing Nationalist. Economically he sits on the market right (+50), having handed policy to the liberal economist Paulo Guedes, who pursued pension reform and privatisation. On governance he leans authoritarian (+50), praising Brazil's military regime, loosening gun laws and attacking the electoral system. Socially he is firmly traditional (−60), allied with evangelical churches and opposed to abortion, same-sex marriage and what he calls gender ideology.
Is Jair Bolsonaro left-wing or right-wing?
Right-wing, and widely described as far-right. His politics combine anti-communism, hostility to the Workers' Party, law-and-order nationalism and religious social conservatism. His economic liberalism came late: as a deputy he defended state companies and military pay, and in office he expanded cash transfers before the 2022 election. What has stayed constant is his attachment to the armed forces, to traditional family values and to a hard line on crime.
Was Jair Bolsonaro convicted of plotting a coup?
Yes. In September 2025 a panel of Brazil's Supreme Federal Court convicted Bolsonaro, by four votes to one, of crimes including attempting a coup d'état and taking part in an armed criminal organisation, and sentenced him to 27 years and three months in prison. Prosecutors argued that he conspired with military officers and ministers to overturn his 2022 defeat by Lula, an effort that ended with the storming of government buildings in Brasília on 8 January 2023. Bolsonaro denied wrongdoing and called the case political persecution.
Which minds are closest to Jair Bolsonaro?
On the 99ideologies three-axis compass, the minds closest to Jair Bolsonaro are Coriolanus (99% alike), Jean-Marie Le Pen (98% alike) and Enoch Powell (97% alike). The furthest is Emma Goldman (0% alike).