In Brazil, the US election is inspiring hard-right ‘Trump of the tropics’ supporters to ‘complete our mission’

In many ways, nowhere has Trump’s political strategy been more rigorously mirrored than here.

Since President-elect Donald Trump’s political comeback on Tuesday, Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro and his supporters have celebrated his victory as their own. In many ways, nowhere has Trump’s political strategy been more rigorously mirrored than in Brazil. Reenergized, Bolsonaro’s base has set its sights on the 2026 election, seeing Trump’s resurgence as evidence that a similar return could unfold in Brazil. Although barred from running until 2030, Bolsonaro congratulated Trump in a series of videos and posts drawing comparisons between their paths and saying he hoped Trump’s return to power would inspire Brazil “to complete our mission.” Over the years, Bolsonaro has leaned into the nickname of “Trump of the tropics,” and both men have built parallel legacies – each facing legal and personal trials, including assassination attempts and indictments, and both elevating their families to roles of political prominence. At the Trump watch party in Mar-a-Lago on election night, Donald Trump Jr. posed for a photo with his Brazilian counterpart, former first son and congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro. On Wednesday, Eduardo told CNN Brasil, “as goes the United States, so goes Brazil.” A linchpin of Bolsonaro’s strategy has been his alliance with prominent US conservatives, a task led by his son Eduardo. Since at least 2018, Eduardo has frequently traveled to the United States, cultivating relationships with figures like former Trump adviser Steve Bannon and American Conservative Union chair Matt Schlapp.