Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro attends the Agrishow fair, in Ribeirao Preto, Brazil, May 1, 2023. REUTERS/Carla Carniel
RIBERAO PRETO, Brazil (Reuters) -Former right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro stole the show on Monday at Brazil's largest agribusiness fair where he was acclaimed by supporters from the country's strong farm sector.
It was Bolsonaro's first encounter with supporters since he returned from the United States one month ago, and he was mobbed by an excited crowd that applauded him wildly when he climbed on top of a combine harvester.
Organizers of the annual Agrishow withdrew an invitation for the current agriculture minister in leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government, which complained they had turned the fair into a campaign event.
"We are a great nation and we have everything to be a great power," Bolsonaro, a populist nationalist told the crowd, touting Brazil's position as a top global producer of food.
"What does agriculture need? You need politicians who don't get in your way," he added, speaking alongside Sao Paulo Governor Tarcisio de Freitas, his former infrastructure minister.
Bolsonaro criticized the decision by Lula to recognize new Indigenous reservations based on ancestral lands, a constant source of complaint by farmers in Brazil's expanding agricultural frontier.
He said it was too much land for too few people, and he had tried unsuccessfully to allow Indigenous communities to engage in commercial agriculture, which is currently not legal on protected lands.
The deep-pocketed and powerful farm sector was a major supporter of Bolsonaro's 2018 election. In office he relaxed environmental controls, took the farmers' side in land disputes with Indigenous communities and passed legislation allowing farmers to arm themselves to protect their properties.
Bolsonaro, who never conceded defeat to Lula in the October election, faces investigations for his attacks on Brazil's election system and alleged role in inciting the storming of government building in Brasilia on Jan. 8, one week after Lula took office. Bolsonaro faces legal risks that could ban him from running in the 2026 election.
It was the first time since the farm fair in Sao Paulo state started in 1994 that no representative from the federal government was present on the opening day of the event, which showcases advances in agricultural technology. Organizers said they expect 190,000 people to attend the five-day fair.
Agriculture Minister Carlos Favaro wished the farmers success and said he looked forward to attending next year.
(Reporting by Lais Morais and Carla Carniel; Writing by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Cynthia Osterman)
