By Maria Josefina Arce

Although in December 2022 his presidential mandate ended, Jair Bolsonaro has not ceased to be at the center of controversy in Brazil, which also characterized his tenure at the Planalto Palace.

The former army captain was included in the investigations of the Public Prosecutor's Office into the seizure by thousands of his followers of public buildings, which occurred on January 8, 2023, 7 days after the inauguration of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as the new president of the South American country.

In view of his defeat at the polls, the ultra-right-winger questioned the results of the general elections of October 2022, in which Lula da Silva won with about 51% of the votes.

In June last year, the Superior Electoral Court disqualified the former head of state from holding any public office for 8 years, due to his statements on the security of the electoral system during a meeting in Brasilia with ambassadors from several nations.

But Bolsonaro is at the center of another scandal. A report by the newspaper O Globo at the end of last year brought to light that during his administration, from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2022, a whole espionage plot was set up against his opponents.

According to information, during this period, a parallel structure to the Brazilian Intelligence Agency operated to monitor people and public authorities, including judges, journalists and politicians.

And in recent days the police searched the home and office of his son Carlos, a legislator of Rio de Janeiro, which put even more attention on the Bolsonaro family.

The truth is that the ultra-right-winger has not ceased to be in the spotlight. During his 4 years in office, his statements and actions provoked quite a few controversies. Bolsonaro downplayed the importance of the COVID pandemic and was against isolation measures.He was also a strong opponent of vaccines against the disease caused by the new coronavirus and repeatedly spread false information about them and their side effects.

His discourse also encouraged violence against indigenous peoples and the invasion of their ancestral lands, while dismantling public policies in favor of these communities.The reality is that the questioned Bolsonaro is the subject of several investigations ranging from offenses against the electoral system to the performance of his government during the pandemic. The ultra-right-winger has not ceased to be at the center of the storm.