The President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro (no party), ends this Sunday (31) his participation in the G20 – group of the 19 largest economies in the world plus the European Union – without any bilateral meeting with world leaders on his agenda or social integration with them.
Isolated during the event, he preferred to take advantage of his stay in Rome to go out through the back doors of the Brazilian embassy and walk the streets of the Italian capital, as he had done the previous days, followed by a twenty supporters who articulate through WhatsApp channels.
Bolsonaro left the diplomatic representation, where he is staying, at 10:40 a.m., after Prince Charles was already heard by prime ministers and presidents in Nuvola, a convention center 15 km away. The seat of Brazil was occupied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carlos França.
This Sunday morning, Bolsonaro did not participate in a visit organized by Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi to Fontana di Trevi, where he had gone on foot on Friday (29). Draghi brought together in the 18th century film source such leaders as German Prime Minister Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Spaniard Pedro Sánchez and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The leaders posed for a photo in front of the monument and followed the rite of the coin: according to legend, to return to Rome, you have to throw a coin with your back to the fountain and then quickly turn around to see it submerge. On Friday, during his on-site visit, Bolsonaro did not make the traditional gesture.
Some leaders couldn’t resist the temptation to dip their hands in the spring waters before heading to the convention center where they would try on Sunday to iron out differences over how to deal with the climate crisis.
On Saturday evening, the cars of the presidential delegation returned to the Brazilian embassy around 11:30 p.m., as leaders still savored digestifs – served after a tangerine cream – and a conversation at the dinner hosted by Italian President Sergio Mattarella, at the Quirinale Palace. .
At the reception, US President Joe Biden sat next to Mattarella and took the opportunity to chat with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, also his neighbor.
U.S. First Lady Jill Biden had fun with Macron, as marinated salmon, pumpkin and white truffle risotto, roasted artichoke halibut and mashed carrots were served.
During dinner, Bolsonaro briefly met for an informal chat with Merkel. According to Bloomberg, an official reported that the Brazilian representative had told the leader not to be as bad as the media would suggest.
The First Lady of Brazil, Michele, was not present. Bolsonaro came to Rome with his son Carlos, with whom he shared the sandwiches served at the sausage shop he walked into on Friday. On the spot, moreover, the fact that the president refused a coffee and preferred a Coca-Cola provoked ironic comments.
News anchor Rai TV said Bolsonaro “will go down in history as the only Brazilian president who came to Rome and refused a coffee, a product that represents a link between countries.”
Also at the G20, Bolsonaro was seen isolated. He drew the attention of reporters covering the first meeting with the Italian Prime Minister, host of the event, that the Brazilian was the only one Draghi had not reached out to.
When he entered the antechamber of the event, Bolsonaro was not approached by any of the leaders who were already there, such as Merkel, Australian Scott Morrison or Canadian Justin Trudeau, or Boris, Macron and Von. der Leyen.
The Brazilian walked over to the coffee table and tried to strike up a conversation with the waiters, talking about his Italian origins. “Is everyone Italian there?” He asked, according to the journalist who represented Brazilian journalists at the event.
The caller only responded with a nod of his head, as Bolsonaro tried to talk about his Italian origins. Without getting an answer, he then started making a joke about the final between Brazil and Italy at the 1970 World Cup, but no one laughed.
The president spent a few minutes alone watching the other leaders, talking in groups, pointing fingers at those he knew, and talking to his own bodyguards, until his assistants allowed him to engage in a dialogue with the president. Turkish autocrat Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
In about two minutes, Bolsonaro gave his colleague false information about the pandemic, the Brazilian economy and its popularity, and criticized Petrobras and the press. He did not ask Erdogan any questions about Turkey.
The Brazilian also met with the director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), the Ethiopian Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. At the time, he said he was “the only head of state in the world investigated, accused of genocide”, and added: “It’s politics”.
Then the Minister of Health, Marcelo Queiroga, said with a laugh: “Me too. I am going with him to The Hague. To walk there in The Hague.” The statements are part of a video posted on social media.
After ignoring German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, likely future German Prime Minister, he greeted Boris, exchanged a few sentences with Modi and was teased by Argentine President Alberto Fernández about football. Once again isolated, he resigned himself to sitting next to the Brazilian Minister of the Economy, Paulo Guedes, on a sofa away from the other leaders.
When organizers announced the summit would begin, Macron entered hugging African politicians and Merkel entered surrounded by several of her counterparts. The Brazilian president was the last to leave the anteroom and went to the summit with only his ministers.
At around 4.30pm, Bolsonaro was greeted with cries of “murderer” and “genocide” on his return from G20 meetings. The president even got out of the car, as he does when there are supporters, but when he heard more yelling against him than for, he didn’t approach.
He just waved away and walked into the embassy. At the exit from the rear, dozens of supporters were waiting for him with yellow balloons and Brazilian flags, singing the national anthem.
Bolsonaro then walked through the center of the Italian capital, but a riot prompted the president to end the tour earlier than expected. Journalists were beaten, brutally pushed and had cell phones ripped off by agents who did not want to identify themselves.
While in Rome, Bolsonaro saw the Vatican outside, marching with ministers in what he ended up calling “genocidal” by opposing the protesters. He was defended by the small group of sympathizers, who, according to Sandra and Sonia, two Brazilian immigrants who are part of it, know each other through volunteering activities in evangelical churches in Rome.
During this period, Biden and Modi were received in audience by the Pope. The Brazilian president will also not be received by any of the Catholic authorities in Padua, where he intends to visit the Basilica of Saint Anthony.
“Coffeeaholic. Lifelong alcohol fanatic. Typical travel expert. Prone to fits of apathy. Internet trailblazer.”