Presidents Jair Bolsonaro and Vladimir Putin have one thing in common – they’re both in need of friends.
While Putin is facing the full force of sanctions imposed upon Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, Bolsonaro is fretting over his own political future: Brazil’s presidential elections are scheduled for October, and he is consistently trailing in the polls behind former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
While many world leaders have cut ties with an increasingly ostracised Putin, Bolsonaro’s refusal to condemn Russia over its war in Ukraine has raised several questions over the strategy and direction of his election campaign.
