International
Brazil’s Bolsonaro taps wife to woo Evangelicals, women
AFP | by Ramon SAHMKOW
Once a discreetly smiling presence at Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s side, First Lady Michelle Bolsonaro is increasingly wooing Evangelical Christian and women voters to reelect the husband she calls “one of God’s chosen ones.”
Trailing in the polls to leftist rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the far-right incumbent has turned to his telegenic, fervently Christian wife to help him with those two key demographic groups ahead of October 2 elections.
A mainly behind-the-scenes presence for most of Bolsonaro’s term, the first lady is now playing a starring role in his campaign — to the point of giving what he himself called the keynote speech when he launched his reelection bid a month ago.
“She’s the most important person here,” Bolsonaro, 67, gushed that day.
He then handed the mic over to his beaming 40-year-old wife, who warned ominously against returning “our enemies” to power and led the crowd in the Lord’s prayer.
Lula, Brazil’s president from 2003 to 2010, is leading Bolsonaro 45 percent to 33 percent, according to a poll released Thursday by the Datafolha institute.
Among women, the gap was even bigger: 46 percent to 29 percent.
Bolsonaro has long struggled with women voters.
In his 2018 campaign, the former army captain was the target of a women-led movement called #EleNao — “not him” — launched by critics who accuse him of misogyny.
He has revived those accusations this time around with controversial campaign-trail behavior such as bragging about his supposed sexual prowess and lashing out at a woman journalist who asked him a tough question during the first presidential debate.
“You must have a crush on me or something,” he told her sarcastically.
Enter the first lady.
“Her role is to make (Bolsonaro) more attractive to women voters,” says Sergio Praca, a political analyst at the Getulio Vargas Foundation.
Winning strategy?
Both Bolsonaro and former president Lula are keenly courting women (53 percent of the electorate) and Evangelicals (an estimated 31 percent of Brazil’s 213 million people).
Known for his aggressive style and use of profanities, Bolsonaro has sometimes rubbed both groups the wrong way.
Political analysts say women voters also resent his lack of policies to help them through the country’s post-Covid-19 economic malaise, the impact of which has fallen disproportionately on their shoulders.
Michelle, Bolsonaro’s third wife, sends the message the president is a “conservative family man” and “trustworthy” candidate, says Carolina Botelho, a political communication specialist at Rio de Janeiro State University.
The elegant first lady’s increasingly active role has turned heads — including among the electoral authorities, who recently blocked a Bolsonaro campaign ad from television, ruling she had exceeded the time allotted to candidates’ allies.
But it is unclear if the strategy is paying off: Bolsonaro’s poll numbers among women have remained essentially flat.
Michelle “may have reinforced (Bolsonaro’s) standing among women who were already with him, but she hasn’t drawn in those who were against him,” says Botelho.
“She speaks well to a fanatic, radicalized audience, but not to the rest of the population.”
Religion and politics
The first lady appears to have greater pull with conservative Christians, given her history of volunteering on church-affiliated charity projects and her close ties with powerful Evangelical pastors and politicians.
“Her main strength is among the Evangelical electorate,” says Adriano Laureno, a political analyst at consulting firm Prospectiva.
Her speaking style “closely resembles a pastor’s,” with constant references to God and a struggle between good and evil, he adds.
In this case, the strategy may be working: Bolsonaro has extended his lead over Lula among Evangelicals, which stands at 49 percent to 32 percent in the latest Datafolha poll.
Polls also show a majority of voters in Brazil believe religion should play a role in politics.
The first lady does just that in her public appearances, regularly repeating her husband’s slogan: “Brazil above all, and God above everyone.”
International
El Chapo’s son Joaquín Guzmán López pleads guilty to U.S. drug trafficking charges
Joaquín Guzmán López, one of the sons of notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, pleaded guilty on Monday to drug trafficking charges in a U.S. court, months after his brother Ovidio reached a similar plea agreement, according to local media reports.
The defendant appeared before a federal court in Chicago early Monday afternoon and changed his previous plea in the case, the Chicago Tribune reported. U.S. authorities accuse him of forming, together with his three brothers, the cartel faction known as “Los Chapitos.”
The group is believed to have continued the operations of El Chapo, who has been serving a life sentence in the United States since 2019.
Guzmán López, 39, was arrested after landing in Texas in a small aircraft alongside cartel co-founder Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada.
International
Venezuela authorizes return flights as U.S. continues deportations amid rising tensions
The arrival of U.S. aircraft carrying undocumented Venezuelan migrants continued regularly despite rising tensions between Washington and Caracas over President Donald Trump’s military deployment in the Caribbean.
Trump maintains that the deployment is part of an anti-narcotics operation, while Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro insists the true objective is to remove him from power and seize the nation’s oil resources.
Venezuela’s aviation authority has “received a request from the United States government to resume repatriation flights for Venezuelan migrants from that country to Venezuela,” the Ministry of Transportation said in a statement .
“Under the instructions of President Nicolás Maduro, authorization has been granted for these aircraft to enter our airspace,” it added.
Caracas will permit two Eastern Airlines flights to land on Wednesday and Friday.
Migration remains one of the Trump administration’s flagship issues. On Monday, the U.S. president held a meeting with his National Security Council to discuss the situation in Venezuela, a day after confirming he had spoken with Maduro by phone, without offering further details.
According to the Venezuelan government, roughly 75 deportation flights have been carried out this year, returning at least 13,956 Venezuelans from the United States.
International
20,000 rounds stolen from german army after driver leaves cargo unattended
The German army confirmed the theft of a shipment of ammunition that occurred a week ago while it was being transported by a civilian delivery driver, a military spokesperson told AFP, confirming earlier media reports.
According to Der Spiegel and the regional broadcaster MDR, around 20,000 rounds of ammunition were stolen from an unguarded parking lot near Magdeburg, in eastern Germany, while the driver was asleep in a nearby hotel. No information has been released regarding the identity of the suspects, and the military declined to specify the exact type or amount of ammunition taken.
Authorities have also not indicated how the perpetrators knew the cargo would be left unattended.
“The theft was discovered upon delivery at the barracks,” the German army spokesperson said.
A police spokeswoman confirmed to AFP that an investigation has been opened but refused to provide further details “for tactical reasons.”
Sources close to the German military, cited by Der Spiegel, believe it is unlikely the theft was a coincidence. They suspect the thieves waited for the driver to stop for the night before striking.
Der Spiegel also reported that the Defense Ministry normally requires two drivers for this type of transport to ensure the cargo is constantly monitored. However, in this case only one driver was assigned, meaning the civilian transport company failed to comply with the security protocols.
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