Four years after storming in to shake up a Brazil disgusted with politics-as-usual, far-right President Jair Bolsonaro finds it increasingly hard to cast himself as an outsider, but remains as vitriolic and polarizing as ever.
Seeking reelection for a new four-year term, the 67-year-old incumbent faces his leftist nemesis, ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (2003-2010), in a down-to-the-wire runoff election Sunday.
Known for a brash, divisive style that earned him the nickname "Tropical Trump," Bolsonaro, an ex-army captain turned congressman, surged to national prominence in 2018. He played to voters disgusted with the political and economic dumpster fire triggered by the "Car Wash" corruption scandal, which stained a laundry list of political and business bigwigs, particularly Lula and his Workers' Party.
When Bolsonaro survived a knife attack during a campaign rally that September, perpetrated by an assailant who was later declared mentally unfit to stand trial, it only fueled followers' belief in their "Messias," or "Messiah" -- the incumbent's middle name.
The aura of invincibility around him has since faded, dimmed by his widely criticized handling of Covid-19 and a weak economy.
After finishing a closer-than-expected second to Lula in the first-round election on October 2 -- 48 percent to 43 percent -- Bolsonaro trails by a similar margin heading into Sunday's vote.
But pundits say he may yet pull off an upset.
- Tough talker -
Bolsonaro soared to the presidency in 2018 with broad support from the business sector, anti-corruption voters, and the powerful "Bibles, bullets and beef" coalition -- Evangelical Christians, security hardliners and the agribusiness industry.
Supporters love his gloves-off style, emphasis on "God, country and family," and everyman touch on social media, where his movement thrives.
But he infuriates critics with his divisive vitriol and disdain for political correctness, often drawing accusations of racism, sexism and homophobia.
On the international stage, he has drawn condemnation over the destruction of the Amazon rainforest -- which surged on his watch -- and is increasingly isolated since his political role model, Donald Trump, lost the US presidency in 2020.
Bolsonaro's popularity eroded as his administration failed to deliver on key promises -- sweeping budget cuts, massive privatizations, brisk economic growth -- and floundered through various crises, especially the coronavirus pandemic.
Bolsonaro downplayed Covid-19, defied expert advice on fighting it, and warned vaccines could "turn you into an alligator" -- even as Brazil's death toll surged to become one of the highest in the world, at more than 685,000.
A Senate investigative commission recommended he be charged with crimes against humanity for his pandemic response.
He also faces some 140 impeachment requests, a series of corruption scandals involving his inner circle, and several Supreme Court investigations, notably over accusations of using government resources to spread disinformation.
But he is betting on an improving economy, fuel-price cuts and big new welfare benefits launched in July to boost his support.
- 'Prison, death or victory' -
Born in 1955 to a Roman Catholic family with Italian roots, Bolsonaro served as an army paratrooper before starting his political career in 1988 as a Rio de Janeiro city councilor.
Two years later, he was elected to the lower house of Congress, where he served in relative obscurity until launching his ultimately successful presidential bid.
He has ignited one explosive controversy after another with his remarks.
In 2014, he made headlines by saying a left-wing lawmaker was "not worth raping" because she was "too ugly."
In August 2020, he threatened to "pound" a journalist who asked him about corruption allegations linked to his wife, Michelle.
The president is openly nostalgic for Brazil's 1964-1985 military dictatorship, whose only "mistake," he said in 2016, "was to torture and not kill" leftist dissidents.
Many Brazilians fear Bolsonaro could try to fight the election result if he loses, following in Trump's footsteps.
He has hinted he will not leave the presidency without a fight, saying his reelection bid can only have three outcomes: "prison, death or victory."
Twice divorced, Bolsonaro married current wife Michelle, 40, a fervent Evangelical Christian, in 2007.
He has four sons -- three of them politicians -- and, in what he called a moment of "weakness," a daughter.
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