In a twist that shocks absolutely no one with a functioning cerebral cortex, Brazil has convicted Jair Bolsonaro's progeny, one Carlos Bolsonaro, of colluding with the United States to funnel legal aid to daddy dearest. The plot, hatched in the fetid swamps of right-wing grievance, involved whispered meetings with Trump-era apparatchiks and a flurry of encrypted messages that would make a Bond villain blush. Carlos, a man whose political acumen is matched only by his father's talent for viral ineptitude, now faces the indignity of a criminal record rather than a cabinet post.
The Brazilian Supreme Court, in a rare moment of genuine justice, ruled that the Bolsonaro clan's habit of treating the law like a suggestion was, in fact, illegal. One can almost hear the collective groan from Mar-a-Lago where Bolsonaro Senior presumably paces, muttering about 'deep state' cabals. The report, leaked from the chancelleries of Brasília, details a scheme so audacious it could have been scripted by a coked-up screenwriter: Carlos allegedly met with US lobbyists, promised them Brazilian soybeans and Amazonian timber, all in exchange for a few lawyers to keep Jair out of the pokey.
It's a tale of venality so profound that even the most cynical satire balk. As the gavel falls, one wonders: will the Bolsonaro brand of buffoonery survive this latest blow, or will Brazil finally wake from its populist nightmare?
