PortraitErudite and outrageous, Olavo de Carvalho is the mastermind of the Brazilian far right. Thanks to social networks, he contributed to placing, in 2018, Jair Bolsonaro at the head of the country. But less than a year from the presidential election, his conspiratorial “fake news” eventually got tired.
They said he was dead. Or, at the very least, in critical or even terminal condition. It is early November 2021, and Olavo de Carvalho, 74, is at its worst. This man, nicknamed the “guru of Jair Bolsonaro” by the press, has been treated in a hospital in São Paulo for months now. Suffering from a tumor in the stomach, suffering from heart and kidney failure according to the press, he would be in agony. The most alarmist rumors circulate. Many believe that he will not make it through Christmas.
When, suddenly, surprise. On November 16, like a phoenix, “Olavo” returns from the realm of the dead. A video, shot in his house in Richmond (Virginia), in the United States, shows him certainly weakened, but very much alive. “How did I get here? It’s a very short story! (…) I was in the hospital, and suddenly they offered me a flight, in fifteen minutes. I was not going to let this opportunity pass! », he explains in the most normal way, a mischievous smile of victory on his lips.
In truth, Olavo de Carvalho would have decided to spin in English to escape a summons from the police. On November 10, his wife, Roxane, urgently bought two tickets to Miami. For more discretion, she paid the sum in cash. The takeoff took place three days later, from Asunción, capital of Paraguay, which the essayist reached by car, avoiding border controls. All without declaring his release to the hospital, which concluded with a “patient escape”.
The olavistas in power
The episode is worthy Bonnie and Clyde. He adds a new chapter to the story of this colorful character, both mysterious and controversial, erudite and vulgar, conservative and revolutionary. The patriarch of the Brazilian far right, who has haunted the political and intellectual life of the country for almost thirty years, has had considerable influence since Jair Bolsonaro came to power. Some see in him a Steve Bannon, far-right adviser to former President Trump, or a tropical Patrick Buisson, former ultra-right adviser to Nicolas Sarkozy.
Jair Bolsonaro knows everything he owes him, and in particular his coming to power. Witness a very symbolic scene, which took place on October 28, 2018 in the evening. The night has just fallen on Rio de Janeiro, and with it the results of the second round of the presidential election, which gives him the winner with more than 55% of the votes. The moment is historic. Jair Bolsonaro decides to address the nation during a live broadcast on social networks.
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