In the same way that Justinian, Roman emperor of the 6th century, simply stood by while the Gothic invaders fought each other, Lula da Silva, president of Brazil in the 21st century, watches from a box seat the fights, intrigues and gossip of the right, with the 2026 elections on the horizon.
In antiquity, the Goths were divided between Visigoths and Ostrogoths, with Vandals, Alans, Amalians, Baltingos, followers of Alaric, Ataúlfo and Theodoric; Currently, the Brazilian right is divided between moderates and extremists, supporters of state governors Tarcísio de Freitas, Romeu Zema, Ratinho Júnior and Ronaldo Caiado, and fans of Flávio, Carlos and Eduardo Bolsonaro, as well as supporters of Michelle, also known as Bolsonaro.
Michelle, who leads the women’s wing of the Liberal Party, criticized the party’s support for the candidacy for governor of the state of Ceará by Ciro Gomes, who in the last elections called Jair Bolsonaro corrupt and a chicken thief.
Immediately, Flávio, Jair’s eldest son, came to the aid of the local chief who had made the choice, calling it pragmatic and in agreement with his own father. The brothers made an excited chorus in favor of Flávio and against Michelle.
When the former first lady of Brazil seemed defeated, she ended up turning the result around by being applauded by extremists for whom alliances of convenience are synonymous with moral weakness.
Afterwards, after visiting his father’s cell, Flávio apologized to his stepmother. But he announced his own candidacy for president.
This announcement left Tarcísio, considered the only right-wing name capable of scaring Lula, in audible silence. The same Tarcísio was in the middle of a shootout between Jair and his son Eduardo, who accused the governor of standing idly by while his father was convicted of a coup. A meeting between Tarcísio and Jair at the height of the fight even led Eduardo to order his father to “take it in the ass”.
Next, Valdemar Costa Neto, the president of the party of all Bolsonaros, said that if Eduardo considered announcing a candidacy for president he would help kill his father. “That’s some scoundrel that I didn’t even expect from you, Valdemar”, said Eduardo. “Disgrace is cursing your own father and thinking you have votes, the votes belong to your father, not yours”, replied the PL leader. In between, pastor Silas Malafaia called Eduardo an “asshole” who, this time, out of fear of the televangelist, appeased him.
Carlos Bolsonaro, for his part, wants to be a candidate for deputy in Santa Catarina, to the irritation of local parliamentarian Ana Campagnolo, who aroused the ire of Bolsonaro’s other children and a senator from Santa Catarina. Julia Zanatta, deputy from the most Bolsonarist of the states, then decided to photograph herself with weapons and the caption “Game of Santa Catarina”, alluding to the series Game of Thrones.
In Pernambuco, Gilson Machado, a Bolsonar accordion player from the forró band Brucelose, threatens to change parties if he is not chosen as the local candidate for the Senate and in Rio de Janeiro the dispute appears to be even more fratricidal.
Lula’s empire, like Rome, may fall one day but not due to the action of these tropical Goths.
Journalist, correspondent in São Paulo