For Brazilian President Bolsonaro, the visit of Tesla CEO Elon Musk is a triumph. According to Brazil’s Communications Minister Fábio Faria, Elon Musk will visit the country on May 20 to discuss “connectivity and Amazon conservation” with President’s government. The arrival of Tesla CEO Elon Musk is a victory for the President.
Elon Musk’s visit is a victory for Jair Bolsonaro’s government. After Trump’s re-election bid in 2020 failed, Brazil’s right-wing President, a Trump fan, has grown increasingly isolated on the world stage. Bolsonaro has also been rejected because of his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Bolsonaro Awarded Elon Musk The Same Award He Received
Jair Bolsonaro has escalated his assaults on Brazil’s electronic voting system ahead of the October elections, in which he will square off against Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the country’s favorite.
Bolsonaro, who is polling behind leftist ex-president Lula, has long sought to undermine the 1996 electoral system, declaring in 2021 that he would not recognize election results unless the entire process was redone. A medal has essentially come standard in the cabinet. The Order of Defense Merit, Order of Rio Branco, and Medal of Victory are the three most prestigious awards in Brazil and have given at least one to more than three-quarters of current and previous ministers.
Heads of state frequently grant honors based on contentious criteria. Barack Obama received more additional Presidential Medals of Freedom than just about any other US president since the award’s inception, including the one for Warren Buffett, the billionaire, and another one for then-VP Joe Biden. Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, was awarded Mexico’s highest honor, the Order of the Aztec Eagle, for his contributions to the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Bolsonaro received the same award that Musk received from the National Defense Ministry on his very first day in power, January 1, 2019.
