Fake Bolsonaros are fighting elections in Brazil

In Brazil, typical surnames sre fighting municipal election this time. Dozens of  Bolsonaro are fighting elections. Some of them are- Adilson Bolsonaro, Aldo Bolsonaro, Angela Bolsonaro, Fernanda Bolsonaro, Zezinho Bolsonaro, Junior Bolsonaro, Maclaiten Bolsonaro, Cabo Ramos Bolsonaro, and Wesley Bolsonaro.  None of them are related to the Bolsonaro, the president, Jair, and in fact none of them are actually even named Bolsonaro. But in a sign of just how wildly popular his Trump-ian brand of conservative politics is in many parts of the Brazilian hinterland, scores of candidates are tacking Bolsonaro onto their registered names appearing on ballots this Sunday. In all, more than 70 politicians have adopted it.

There’s nothing illegal about borrowing a celebrity’s name to create a political nickname in Brazil. There’s a long tradition of it here, a country where politics often have a certain zany flair to them. Lula -- as the leftist leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was known to everyone, was a popular one years ago, and to this day appears on a smattering of ballots across the country.Even as the government phases out the emergency payments that have boosted Bolsonaro’s popularity this year, many candidates are still trying tag along after the president. Most of them are disputing elections in smaller cities where government financial help has played an outsize role in the economic recovery. The few exceptions are family members who are running in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, including Carlos Bolsonaro, the president’s son who seeks re-election as a Rio councilman.

Brazil’s electoral legislation allows candidates to pick a nickname by which they’re widely known. The process is rather subjective, however, making room for unusual ballot names including “Ronald Trump” or “Donald Trump Bolsonaro”, two real candidates this year. “In theory, the electoral court could demand proof of those claims, but as no one disputes them, those types of nicknames are validated,” said Henrique Neves, a former judge with Brazil’s top electoral court.

With his popularity being tested during the municipal elections, the president  Jair Bolsonaro has said he doesn’t care if someone uses his name in the ballots. “There are more than 550,000 candidates around the country; It’s impossible to keep tabs,”“Some of them are hoping to win votes with my name and that’s OK.”, he said.