Protest in São Paulo reveals aesthetic, emotional, and political shift in bolsonarism after January 8

In this text from theconservation.com, published in Portuguese, anthropologist and member of the Brazilian Far Right Observatory (OED), Isabela Kalil, builds her analysis on the new reconfiguration of Bolsonarism in Brazil, with an eye on the 2026 elections. Andrea Dip (ReGA) translated and summarized it for this newsletter.

On June 29, Jair Bolsonaro gathered around 12,000 supporters on Paulista Avenue in São Paulo for the latest event of his political movement - a demonstration framed as a “call for justice” and a preview of his electoral ambitions for 2026. But behind the request for amnesty for those involved in the attempted coup d'état on January 8, 2023, there is a deeper transformation: Bolsonarism is undergoing a symbolic and strategic reconfiguration.

Once supported by and focused on the armed forces, the movement is now redefining itself without the military, which distanced itself after growing judicial investigations and allegations of a coup conspiracy. In place of the generals, evangelical pastors such as Silas Malafaia, a pastor who owns an empire with millions of followers and considerable political influence, now occupy center stage. The pulpit replaces the barracks. Religion has ceased to be a secondary element and has become the main source of moral authority and collective identity for Bolsonaro's base.

A new symbolic language is emerging - centered on the Bible, lipstick, and flags. The Bible signals a shift from militarism to martyrdom, presenting Bolsonaro as a persecuted leader rather than a victorious commander. Lipstick evokes the stories of women arrested on January 8, softening the movement's harsher features and appealing to emotions, family values, and forgiveness. The flags - of Brazil, Israel, and the United States - express the movement's transnational aspirations and its ideological affiliations with global far-right networks.

Although the crowd was smaller than at previous rallies, the significance of the event lies not in the numbers but in the narrative. What appears to be a moment of contraction may in fact be a calculated repositioning. Bolsonarism is adapting - trading uniforms for sermons, weapons for prayers, and generals for pastors and matriarchs - in preparation for a new phase in Brazil's political and cultural battles.