Happy New Year! The Reactionary International didn’t stop for the holidays. This shadowy and ever-expanding global network has spent the opening days of 2025 determinedly undermining democratic forces around the world.

In Britain, for example, the Great Moving Right Show continues apace. Elon Musk has abandoned Reform UK’s Nigel Farage for Tommy Robinson, the currently imprisoned founder of the English Defence League — trading what Stuart Hall called the “radical-respectable” forces of reactionary for “the radical-rough” right.

Geert Wilders, the leader of the far-right Dutch Freedom Party, has joined in on the act, applauding Musk’s decision, reminding the world of his longstanding support for Robinson and demanding his immediate release.

Meanwhile, after Justin Trudeau announced his resignation as Canadian Prime Minister, President-elect Trump reiterated his call for the annexation of Canada, asserting that “many people in Canada LOVE being the 51st State.”

2025 is already a time of monsters and there’s only one place to track every morbid symptom. Join the Reactionary International Telegram channel to keep up on the far-right’s every move.

Bolsonaro’s Return?

“Federal Police, you have 72 hours to defuse the bomb at the house of those damn communists,” wrote Francisco Wanderley Luiz on his Facebook page, hours before he attacked the Supreme Court in Brasilia in November.

Brazilian conservatives have long feared the power of the Supreme Court to repress the nation’s far-right; an attack on this institution sends a direct, violent message to President Lula and the country’s progressive forces. A member of Jair Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party of Brazil, Francisco Luiz was among the former President’s staunchest supporters.

Bolsonaro, a far-right politician who won the Brazilian Presidential election in 2018, was most popular for his reverence of military rule. Over his four-year term, the former TV star consistently attacked democratic processes, vilified socialist leaders and denied the COVID-19 pandemic — leading to upwards of 400,000 deaths.

In 2022, Bolsonaro’s reelection campaign focused largely on undermining the public’s trust in the electoral system and casting aspersions regarding his political opponents. However, the Workers’ Party and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva put paid to Bolsonaro’s plans, which included opposition to abortion, transgender rights, and restrictions on freedom of religion.

Following his defeat, Bolsonaro’s supporters caused widespread destruction in Brazilian cities, mirroring the January 6th Capitol riots in the United States. Rather than condemn these rioters, Bolsonaro said they were simply “the fruit of indignation and a sense of injustice of how the electoral process unfolded.”

Since Lula’s victory in November 2022, Bolsonaro has gathered considerable support to contest the 2026 Presidential election, even though the Supreme Court barred him following several indictments — including his alleged involvement in diamond smuggling and falsifying COVID-19 vaccination statuses.

Recently, Bolsonaro faced a further indictment for allegedly planning to inhibit President Lula's inauguration. While the verdict is yet to be handed down, if indicted on all the charges, Bolsonaro could face up to 40 years in prison.

Bolsonaro’s indictment is not an isolated incident. His actions are but the latest reminder of the Reactionary International’s nefarious activities. Every day, the far-right is gaining ground around the world. Romania’s recent elections saw an unprecedented rise in the popularity of far-right leader Călin Georgescu; Israel’s genocidal machinery has dug its claws into Lebanon and Syria even as it continues to destroy Gaza; and Argentina’s libertarian president Javier Milei was granted Italian citizenship by Giorgia Meloni, in a move reflective of deep, far-right alliances.

Even as Bolsonaro awaits his sentence, his supporters and allies across the reactionary international thrive on the former President’s return to the headlines. The challenge that Brazil, and other nations, face is the dual task of enforcing accountability while investigating the structures that give rise to far-right leaders.

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