Social media has been buzzing in recent days with news of the subpoena received by Jair Bolsonaro while he was hospitalized in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU). An episode that exposed, with disconcerting clarity, how the former president’s policy broke even with traditions and medical protocols established decades ago.
Until recently, the ICU was a sacred space, reserved only for those struggling between life and death. Access was restricted to a few family members and health professionals, to protect the patient from infections and ensure necessary care. The seriousness of the environment demanded respect and silence. But Bolsonaro, true to his performative style, transformed the place into a platform. Instead of the absolute rest that a serious condition requires, he set up an improvised studio, with a technical team and equipment to keep his presence alive on social media.
The live broadcast from the ICU had the opposite effect to that desired: usually attracting hundreds of thousands of viewers, this time it only attracted a few, with no more than a thousand consecutive views. The image of a strong and infallible leader, which he had cultivated among his most loyal supporters, was crumbling before everyone’s eyes. The popular cunning — always attentive to political performances — was quick to catch on to the theater on stage. The rejection, already growing, gained new momentum.
Bolsonaro, who called himself “ immortal, unbreakable and inedible ”, now finds himself cornered, cornered not only by legal proceedings, but also by the emptying of his political base. His refuge in the ICU, far from conveying compassion or indignation against alleged abuses, revealed a fragile politician who, contrary to what he preached, fears being held accountable for his actions.
The evangelical right, which once saw Bolsonaro as a kind of divine chosen one, is beginning to look for new protagonists. The disappointment is visible, and the loss of space is irreversible. Each new episode of self-pity or bravado only deepens the gap between the former president and the electorate that once believed in his promises.
Thus, Bolsonaro is politically agonizing in the ICU. Not because of his physical illness, but because of the irreversible damage to his public image. With each new performance, with each new artifice to avoid facing justice and reality, he sinks a little deeper into the mire of his own contradictions.
Would there still be a way out?
Politics, like life, requires humility to recognize mistakes and cunning to reinvent oneself. If he wanted to win back his admirers and return to the political scene, Bolsonaro would have to abandon the persona he built for himself and adopt more strategic attitudes:
- Publicly acknowledge your mistakes , demonstrating true repentance, not empty bravado;
- Build bridges , including with sectors that were previously disregarded, demonstrating the capacity for dialogue and flexibility;
- Present concrete proposals for the country , leaving aside the discourse of permanent victimization;
- Adopt a discreet and respectful stance while facing your processes, showing respect to the institutions;
- Invest in the training of new leaders , demonstrating greatness in preparing the succession instead of insisting on your own name.
It was with steps like these — acknowledging mistakes, forging alliances, and going back to basics — that Lula rebuilt his trajectory even before he was arrested. Bolsonaro, however, seems incapable of carrying out the self-criticism that the new scenario demands.
If he persists on the path of fanaticism and staging, the former captain will find no way out. And what could have been just a difficult moment will become a melancholic end.
