ABSTRACT
Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro endured a violent childhood that appears to have contributed to his need to employ splitting and projective identification to target groups unaligned with his pro-business, pro-military agenda. His refusal to accept facts on existential topics such as the burning of the Amazon and the transmission of COVID-19 led to the deaths of thousands of Brazilians and the destruction of a world resource. The similarities between former President Trump and Brazilian President Bolsonaro are staggering; both clawed their way to the heights of power through lies, fomenting distrust, and employing splitting and projective identification to sway their base. These primary defense mechanisms permit populist leaders like Bolsonaro to perceive the real woes of the populace while shifting them onto the elite. This type of pivoting seems to provide legitimacy to the complaints aired by the aggrieved.
