misplaced head

Through the glass windows of the opulent venue chosen to host the G20 summit in Rome, sunlight seemed to create a special atmosphere. On the speakers, a Song Calm gave a tone of sophistication. The Italianate-style environment was an elegant setting and aimed to create a certain intimacy between leaders who together represented 80% of the planet’s economy.

But in a corner of the room, a man looked uncomfortable: Jair Bolsonaro.

NS UOL He had access to the G20 summit waiting hall, a very reserved and safe place. Armored, the leaders had a rare semi-secret space in that area to discuss the future of the planet.

And so it seemed. In an informal circle, Angela Merkel (Germany), Emmanuel Macron (France), Antonio Guterres (United Nations) and Ursula van der Leyen (EU) discussed how to pressure the international community to create a common fund to ensure the distribution of vaccines.

But in a corner of the room, a man without interlocutors appeared to discuss politics: Jair Bolsonaro.

In other informal circles, the conversation was less strategic. Scott Morrison (Australia), Justin Trudeau (Canada), Narendra Modi (India) and Boris Johnson (UK) spoke about how the pandemic has called for a new way of greeting people.

But in a corner of that room in Rome, a man appeared without friends to talk to: Jair Bolsonaro.

Leave it to the chief to try, but in vain, to get the waiters’ attention

There was also a space for conversations at the end of the ear. Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, Van der Leyen
Discussing the future of the health agency, Mark Ruth, of the Netherlands, pointed out to seek out key allies for one-on-one talks.

Each of them, entering the place and before the start of the solemn summit, will quickly find an old friend, ally or business partner. When the Brazilian arrived, he had no choice: he crossed the room and went straight to a table where the waiters were serving coffee. In this way, no one greeted him, and he did not stop shaking hands.

With one of the waiters, he started a conversation: “Is everyone Italian there?” Embarrassed, the servant man nodded.

Bolsonaro did not give up and spoke of his Italian origins. But he could not attract the attention of the waiters. Then he began to joke about the final match between Brazil and Italy, at the 1970 World Cup. No one understood.

The Brazilian then turned to the rest of the hall and encountered a spectacle of groups speaking enthusiastically on the most diverse topics. However, he remained for long minutes alone, only pointing his finger at those he thought he recognized.

When one of his guards approached, Bolsonaro joked, and in central Italy he released more comments due to the appearance of a professional: “Mafia”.

His advisors went after friends. And they found one of them: Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey accused of dismantling democracy. Before he got close to leaving, Bolsonaro called his aides: “Help me there.”

The conversation, full of lies on the part of the Brazilian, lasted only a few minutes, without a single smile on the part of the Turkish leader. Bolsonaro did not ask about Turkey’s position, did not talk about bilateral relations and did not make proposals to save the world.

Moments later, another captain who was in the kindergarten and ignored by the Brazilian decided to turn his back and talk to another group. It was Olaf Schulz, the potential new chancellor of Germany.

After nearly three years in power, the president found himself surrounded only by his ministers

When the conversation ended, the president’s advisors went in search of more friends. They found an extraordinary ally: Alberto Fernandez, the president of Argentina against whom Bolsonaro campaigned for being a leftist.

However, the conversation between the two was the longest, at about 30 minutes in which the Brazilian president took on the challenge of global diplomacy. He soon received Boris Johnson (UK) and exchanged a few words with Modi from India.

But soon he was alone again. The solution was to go to the sofa away from all the other leaders to sit next to them Paulo Geddes (Save) and wait.

When seeing that column UOL It was at the scene that Bolsonaro’s aides contacted event security. One of the bodyguards insisted on moving in front of the president to prevent the reporter from taking a picture.

Relief came when the organizers announced that the summit would begin. Both leaders walked into the room. Macron, embracing African politicians. Merkel, who has always been reticent, is surrounded by fans.

Bolsonaro, the last to leave the waiting room and the target of international suspicion, walked into the event only accompanied by his ministers. Uncomfortable, without interlocutors and simply out of place, the president was the image of a leader who, after nearly three years in power, is unable to build a positive integration of the country into the world.

In that space, diplomacy has translated into gestures, handshakes, and alliance building. But not for everyone.

In a corner of that room in Rome was not a man who seemed aloof. But it is a country that has lost its place in the world.

Without friends, without allies, without fans, curious or even interested, the Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, fulfilled his promise as an outcast.