Bolsonaro's surreal new life as a Florida man

A LITTLE MORE THAN A MONTH AGO, HE WAS LEADING the fifth largest country in the world.

- VERA BERGENGRUEN

These days, he is wandering around Florida supermarkets, eating fried chicken alone at fast-food restaurants, and holding court for supporters from the driveway of a modest home owned by a former ultimate-fighting champion in a gated community south of Orlando.

Jair Bolsonaro’s re-emergence in Florida is a bizarre spectacle even for a state with a long history of providing haven to eccentric characters. The embattled ex-President of Brazil, who has refused to concede his loss in October’s election, left the country for the U.S. on Dec. 30, two days before the inauguration of his successor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. On Jan. 8, Bolsonaro’s supporters stormed the Brazilian parliament, Supreme Court and presidential palace, violently threatening police and destroying property in an assault with eerie echoes of the attack on the U.S. Capitol carried out by supporters of Donald Trump.

Meanwhile Bolsonaro, once dubbed the Trump of the Tropics, has been hanging out a couple hours’ drive up the Florida Turnpike from his former presidential counterpart. While Trump is plotting the moves of his 2024 campaign, it’s unclear what Bolsonaro’s future in the Sunshine State has in store. His TikTok account broadcasts carefully curated videos to his 74 million followers—smiling families in Brazilian jerseys delivering baskets of bread, strawberries, flowers, and Nutella; time-lapse montages set to emotional music, showing Bolsonaro hugging children; and long lines of people waiting to snap a photo with him.