Turf war breaks between Bolsonaro's sons and Brazil's vice president

Spat points to ideological rift between two factions while some see it as distraction

Tom Phillips Latin America correspondent
Sun 28 Apr 2019 15.49 BST Last modified on Sun 28 Apr 2019 17.06 BST

A turf war has broken out at the pinnacle of Brazilian politics, pitting a presidential son nicknamed ‘pitbull’ and a Steve Bannon-backed polemicist against a group of retired military chiefs led by Brazil’s vice-president, Hamilton Mourão.

The animosity between the two factions was exposed last week after Carlos Bolsonaro – son of the incumbent far-right president Jair Bolsonaro – repeatedly bashed Mourão on Twitter for urging the US-based Olavo de Carvalho to stop meddling in Brazilian politics and return to his former career as an astrologer.

The two factions have emerged after Bolsonaro’s January inauguration, with the hard-right ideologues including the presidential family, Carvalho, the foreign and education ministers on one side and retired generals joined by Mourão on the other. The latter has become an unexpected voice of moderation in the face of Bolsonaro’s chaotic opening act.

Mourão’s reprimand came after the president’s account shared an expletive-filled YouTube video in which Carvalho showed off his gun collection and skewered what he called the shameless, vain and boastful military regime which took power in the 1960s.

The video – reportedly shared by Carlos, who handles his father’s social media accounts – infuriated Brazil’s military establishment, forcing a partial retraction from the president.

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