I join the party and don’t hesitate to amend the question as soon as I greet people. Pleasure, Paul. You’re not finding Bolsonaro very calm, are you? Very peaceful. Very serene. Very zen. I get sausage, garlic bread, litrão. Pleasure, Paul. And all this tranquility of Bolsonaro, huh? Strange, huh? I take a few more laps around the barbecue. I open a smile that some consider pathetic and others, psychopath. And again the greeting and the question. Pleasure, Paul. Bolsonaro is too calm lately, don’t you think?
Most people respond with a wry smile. Understandable. This is not the time or place for this kind of conversation. And besides, I’m on my way out. The doubt, however, remains and gets mixed up with the first symptoms of the hangover: wasn’t this the captain who didn’t take any insults home? Wasn’t the cheapness of the lower clergy incapable of a minimally elaborate political calculation? Wasn’t the fascist irascible? Was it not the carioca caudillo who would impose his will on others, tearing up the Constitution? Wasn’t it the super-threat to democracy?
And even more so at a time like this, when even the pedophile reproach is trying to preach on Bolsonaro. A moment when all the masks have fallen, the Revolution is in the air and the Judiciary is flagrantly acting in favor of Lula. A scenario of censorship, persecution and institutional instability that foster emotional instability – and not just for the president and candidate for reelection.
To me, I confess, the change in posture of Jair Bolsonaro also amazes me. How different is the man of that remote January 1st of 2019 and this one now. Or do I only see a drastic change because, at some point, I also let myself be contaminated by the narrative that Bolsonaro really did pose a threat? In any case, the man of today is no longer just tolerable and is even admirable. Even if this image of a peaceful and democratic leader is only part of the “electoral effort”, the man capable of containing his aggression is to be congratulated. Of, despite all the appeals, insisting on the game “within the four lines”. We all know how difficult this is.
But let’s go to the possible explanations for the calm that seems to take over a previously explosive and impetuous Jair Bolsonaro. And even more on the eve of the toughest and dirtiest election in decades!
Possible explanations
I was talking to a friend about this possibility that the last four years have matured someone accustomed to conflict. The friend, however, does not believe that old dogs learn new tricks. I believe. Not that the old dog will go around walking on two legs while balancing an egg on the end of its snout. That is, I don’t believe that Bolsonaro will turn into a lord full of touch-me-nots. But it is possible, yes, that an old dog learns to contain its hunger in front of a steak. That is, that Bolsonaro has learned that meekness is a virtue as important as, I don’t know, the sense of justice.
Another possibility is faith – an almost unattainable subject in a world addicted to supposedly objective analysis. and contaminated by materialism. After all, how to explain faith (and on top of that the faith of others) for someone who is unaware of this dimension of human experience? Worse: for those who confuse it with superstition? If you are one of those, therefore, I suggest that you go around the next two paragraphs.
Faith reassures insofar as it awakens in us two types of hope. First, the hope that the Truth will prevail over the lie. That Tradition prevails over revolutionary mentality. That Natural Law, in all its divine intelligence, wins the arcs of regulatory experience. The second kind of hope is that our worst nightmares will not come true. That Brazil does not become a Venezuela. May God have mercy on this Nation – to use a happy phrase said by an unhappy person.
Obviously I cannot say that the tranquility I see in Bolsonaro a few days from this which is the dirtiest election since 1989 has to do with faith. With that strange conviction that is born of attachment to the Truth. But I like to think it does. I prefer this to the mundane explanation (this one is superstitious) that Bolsonaro is capable of extremely rational Machiavellian calculations or has a silver bullet or ace up his sleeve.
Finally (welcome back) to the text, a reader who skipped the previous two paragraphs), has the jocular explanation of a mysterious medicine that allows Bolsonaro to remain calm and at the same time have the disposition and mental agility necessary for a campaign. Is it homeopathy? Is it black stripe? And most importantly: where can I buy this medicine to withstand the tension until Sunday? Although it is better that the name of the remedy not be made public. Otherwise, the TSE, in partnership with Anvisa, may well prohibit it.
