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 global leaders on his agenda or social integration with them .
Isolated during the event, he preferred to use his time in Rome to go out the back doors of the Brazilian embassy and walk through the streets of the Italian capital, as he had done in previous days, followed by about two dozen supporters who articulate through channels of WhatsApp.
Bolsonaro left the diplomatic representation, where he is staying, at 10:40 am, while Prince Charles was already being heard by prime ministers and presidents at 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 cinematographic source of the 18th century 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 as it submerges. On Friday, when he visited the place, Bolsonaro did not make the traditional gesture.
Some leaders couldn’t resist the temptation to dip their hands in the spring’s waters before heading to the convention center where they would try on Sunday to iron out differences on how to tackle the climate crisis.
On Saturday night, the presidential delegation’s cars returned to the Brazilian embassy around 23:30, while leaders were still enjoying digestives — served after a tangerine cream — and conversation at the dinner hosted by the president of Italy, Sergio Mattarella, at the Quirinale palace .
At the reception desk, US President Joe Biden sat next to Mattarella and took the opportunity to exchange ideas with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, also his neighbor.
The American First Lady, Jill Biden, was entertained with Macron, while marinated salmon, risotto with pumpkin and white truffles, halibut with roasted artichoke and carrot puree were served.
During dinner, Bolsonaro met briefly for informal conversation with Merkel. According to Bloomberg, an official reported that the Brazilian president had told the leader not to be as bad as the media makes it appear.
The Brazilian First Lady, Michele, was not present. Bolsonaro came to Rome with his son Carlos, with whom he shared the sandwiches served in the sausage shop he entered on Friday. On the spot, by the way, the fact that the president had refused a coffee and preferred a Coca-Cola provoked ironic comments.
The presenter of the Rai TV newscast said that 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 the countries.”
Also in the G20 Bolsonaro was seen isolated. It called the attention of reporters who covered the first meeting with the Italian prime minister, host of the event, that the Brazilian was the only one to whom Draghi did not reach out.
When he entered the anteroom 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 went to the coffee table and tried to strike up a conversation with the waiters, talking about his Italian origins. “Everyone Italian there?” he asked, according to the reporter who represented Brazilian journalists at this event.
The caller only responded with a nod, while Bolsonaro tried to speak of his Italian origins. Without getting an answer, he then started to make a joke about the final between Brazil and Italy, in the 1970 World Cup, but no one laughed.
The president spent a few minutes alone looking at the other leaders, talking in groups, pointing fingers at those he knew and talking to his own bodyguards, until his aides got him a dialogue with 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 didn’t ask Erdogan any questions about Turkey.
The Brazilian also met with the director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), 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, laughing: “Me too. I’m going with him to The Hague. To walk there in The Hague.” The statements are part of a video posted on social networks.
After ignoring German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, the likely future German Prime Minister, he greeted Boris, exchanged a few sentences with Modi and was provoked by Argentine President Alberto Fernández about football. Once again isolated, he resigned himself to sitting next to the Brazilian Economy Minister, Paulo Guedes, on a sofa far from the other leaders.
When organizers announced that the summit would begin, Macron walked in hugging African politicians and Merkel walked in surrounded by many of her counterparts. The Brazilian president was the last to leave the anteroom and went to the summit with only his ministers.
Around 4:30 pm, Bolsonaro was greeted with screams of “assassin” 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 shouts against them than in favour, he didn’t come closer.
He just waved from a distance and drove into the embassy. At the exit from the back, dozens of supporters were waiting for him with yellow balloons and Brazilian flags, singing the National Anthem.
Bolsonaro then took a walk through the center of the Italian capital, but a riot prompted the president to end his tour earlier than expected. Journalists were beaten, brutally pushed and had cell phones snatched from their hands by agents who did not want to identify themselves.
During his stay in Rome, Bolsonaro saw the Vatican outside, walking with ministers in what he ended up calling “genocidal” by opposing protesters. He was defended by the small group of supporters, who, according to Sandra and Sonia, two Brazilian immigrants who are part of it, know themselves from volunteer 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 St. Anthony.
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