Bolsonaro will be in Brazil by April, says PL party president

The president of the PL, Valdemar Costa Neto, said on Wednesday (Mar. 1) that the former Brazilian president and undisputed leader of the Latin American right, Jair Bolsonaro (PL, right) should return to Brazil by April.

Bolsonaro left the country on Dec. 30 and has been in the United States for 2 months.

Valdemar expects Bolsonaro to help in the party’s articulations for the 2024 municipal elections.

The former president and former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro are expected to tour the country.

The wife of the former head of state won a position in the acronym and chairs the PL Women. She returned to Brazil on Jan. 26 and has been attending political events.

“[They will travel] separately. Michelle concentrates only on women, and Bolsonaro visits our mayors.”

“I think Bolsonaro gets into a rhythm in, at most, 1 month or 1.5 months. I think he will be here in April, in my opinion,” said the PL president in an interview with journalists.

To the Wall Street Journal, Bolsonaro said he would return in March.

The former president has been speaking in the US at events geared toward right-wing and conservative supporters.

In the same interview, he also said he sees a risk of prison upon his return to the country.

Valdemar offered Bolsonaro the honorary presidency of the PL and announced that he would support him in the elections in 2026 for the command of the Planalto.

After winning the largest seat in the House of Representatives in 2022, with 99 elected deputies, the president of the PL hopes to have a “brutal growth” in the number of councilors and mayorships in 2024.

For this, he is counting on Bolsonaro’s popularity.

“We want Bolsonaro to visit our cities […] We have observed that he has not lost prestige; he will be a significant person in the municipal elections next year,” he declared.

According to Valdemar, the goal is to win over 1,000 town halls. “As we went for 99 [deputies], we should reach 1,000 [town halls]. With the work that we can do and that Bolsonaro can do in the election, we can go well past that,” he said.

Michelle Bolsonaro, meanwhile, is expected to begin her caravan across the country between May and June.

The idea is that she will meet with the presidents of the Women’s PL in each state.

Former minister and vice-minister in Bolsonaro’s ticket, General Braga Netto, will assume the position of national secretary of Institutional Relations of the PL.

Since the beginning of the year, the military officer has been in charge of the PL’s office and has contributed to strategic analyses of the party’s activities, as found by Power360.

“We are creating a new structure for the party because of its growth, and he is helping in this […] Braga has been setting up the organization,” said Valdemar.