Jair Bolsonaro’s Rasputin? How to Weaken a Right-Winger
By
Julio
Severo
New
Brazilian right-wing president has been often compared, especially by the
left-wing Big Media, as a Tropical Trump.
Yet,
who will dispel the other comparisons?
Trump
had an adviser who, with his occult connections, was considered “Trump’s
Rasputin.”
In
the same way, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has an informal adviser who is
seen as “Bolsonaro’s Rasputin.”
The
original Rasputin was a Russian adviser in a very right-wing government in
Russia.
To
conquer Russia and launch the Soviet Union, communists firstly had to overthrow
the right-wing orthodox Christian government of the tsar, who was a hard and
inflexible ruler against communist agitators and revolutionary movements. But a
spiritual adviser named Rasputin, who painted himself deceptively as a
“Christian,” undermined and weakened the hardness and inflexibility of the
tsar, facilitating the actions of radicals. Rasputin was indeed an esotericist,
an occultist.
Even
when they are not communists, occultists eventually facilitate the dirty work
of communists and other radicals by weakening Christian right-wing leaders who
could, without the bad influence of occultism, fight agitators and communist
movements.
Spiritual
advisers can help or ruin a right-winger.
In
the United States, Trump’s top spiritual advisers are evangelical ministers,
including Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham, and Paula White and Kenneth
Copeland, charismatic televangelists. There are no occultists, esotericists,
and astrologers among Trump’s spiritual advisers.
In
fact, there was a top adviser to Trump who was an esoteric. Steve Bannon, an
adherent of the Islamic occultist René Guénon, was eventually expelled from the
White House, probably because Trump’s evangelical advisers are men and women
dedicated to prayer. Their prayers had this powerful effect, expelling from the
White House a troubled man.
In
Brazil, the alleged top spiritual adviser of Bolsonaro — Olavo de Carvalho — is
historically an astrologer, who deceptively paints himself as a Christian. The
alleged adviser is, like Bannon, an adherent of Guénon, having translated a
Guénon’s book into Portuguese and keeping Guénon’s books in his suggested
reading list in his non-accredited “philosophy” course. To see the list of
occult books Carvalho has written, use
this link.
His
occult connections have taken a heavy toll in his family: two of his sons are
Muslim, an underaged daughter was forced to marry a Muslim in a mosque and
another son is a toothless professional astrologer.
Nevertheless,
Bolsonaro has never expelled him.
Brazil
is spiritually far from right-wing Trump’s America and somewhat near the
right-wing tsar’s Russia.
The
reason Trump expelled his esoteric adviser is explained in his official letter about Bannon, where
Trump says:
Steve Bannon has nothing to do with
me or my Presidency. When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his
mind. Steve was a staffer who worked for me after I had already won the
nomination by defeating seventeen candidates…
Now that he is on his own, Steve is
learning that winning isn’t as easy as I make it look. Steve had very little to
do with our historic victory… Steve doesn’t represent my base—he’s only in it
for himself.
Steve pretends to be at war with the
media, which he calls the opposition party, yet he spent his time at the White
House leaking false information to the media to make himself seem far more
important than he was. It is the only thing he does well. Steve was rarely in a
one-on-one meeting with me and only pretends to have had influence to fool a
few people with no access and no clue, whom he helped write phony books.
In
sum, eventually Trump saw his adviser — a adherent of Guénon — as a treacherous
opportunist. There is no doubt in my mind that the prayers of his evangelical
advisers helped free him from Bannon.
How
are the former “Trump’s Rasputin” and “Bolsonaro’s Rasputin” similar?
“Devil’s
Bargain” said about Bannon, “Though hardly a moralizing social conservative, he
objected bitterly to the secular liberalism encroaching upon the culture.”
Not
different from Carvalho, known for his foul mouth, who argues that
homosexuality is natural. His “opposition” to the homosexual agenda is a
strange idea that just as homosexuality cannot be imposed, so cannot
male/female sex.
“Devil’s
Bargain” said, “Bannon… brought to Guénon’s Traditionalism a strong dose of
Catholic social thought.”
Not
different of Carvalho, who has mixed his experience with Guénon’s
Traditionalism with a strong dose of Catholic thought.
“Devil’s
Bargain” said that Bannon launched “effort to prop up Catholic traditionalists
marginalized by the new Pope.”
Not
different from Carvalho, who has been successful in drawing to his movement Catholic
traditionalists marginalized by Pope Francis.
“Devil’s
Bargain” said, “Expounding on this view at the 2014 conference at the Vatican,
Bannon knit together Guénon, Evola.”
Not different from Carvalho, who has
knit together ideas of Guénon and other traditionalist occultists among
traditional Catholics.
“Devil’s
Bargain” said, “In the summer of 2016, Bannon described Trump in this
publication as a ‘blunt instrument for us.’”
Not
different from Carvalho, who has used Bolsonaro and his sons as a blunt instrument
for his own movement.
“Devil’s
Bargain” said, “Trump also revealed his own nickname for Bannon’s nationalist
(and hard-right) ideology: ‘alt-left,’ a riff on the term ‘alt-right.’”
If
Trump compared Bannon’s ideology as left-wing, it is not different from
Carvalho’s case. Janaína Paschoal, a prominent member
of Bolsonaro’s party, voiced concern about extremists among Bolsonaro’s followers,
saying, “You do not win an election with a one-sided mindset. And you do not
govern a nation with a one-sided mindset.” She had already identified such
extremists when she said, “Olavetes are as collective imbeciles as Workers’
Party adherents, Marxists… Wake up!” Olavete is an adherent of Olavo de
Carvalho.
“Devil’s
Bargain” said, “Bannon represents his own brand of conservative Catholicism.”
Not
different from Carvalho, who also represents his own brand of conservative
Catholicism.
“Devil’s
Bargain” said, “Bannon’s response to the rise of modernity was to set populist,
right-wing nationalism against it.”
Not
different from Carvalho, who launched his own populist, right-wing
nationalism.
Devil’s
Bargain” said, “Bannon thrived on the chaos he created and did everything he
could to make it spread.”
Not
different from Carvalho, who has thrived on the chaos he creates and does
everything he can to make it spread.
“Devil’s
Bargain” said about Bannon’s fascination with Guénon: “Guénon developed a philosophy
often referred to as ‘Traditionalism’ (capital ‘T’), a form of antimodernism
with precise connotations. Guénon was a ‘primordial’ Traditionalist, a believer
in the idea that certain ancient religions, including the Hindu Vedanta,
Sufism, and medieval Catholicism, were repositories of common spiritual truths,
revealed in the earliest age of the world, that were being wiped out by the
rise of secular modernity in the West.”
Not
different from Carvalho, who has similar fascination with Guénon and is an avid
advocate of the medieval Catholicism. In fact, he is the most prominent Brazilian
advocate of the revisionism of the Inquisition, a hallmark of medieval
Catholicism. In this sense, how can Bolsonaro conciliate a pro-Israel
administration, to please the mass of his evangelical voters, if the
pro-Inquisition stance of his Rasputin is deeply disturbing, dishonest and
malicious for Israelis?
While
Carvalho obscenely defends the
Inquisition by arguing
that “condemned individuals (less than ten a year in two dozen nations) died
suffocated in a few minutes, before the flames could touch them,” the father of
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has a massive book of 1,500 pages
proving that innocent Jewish victims by thousands died an excruciating death in
the same flames. Israel agrees with Netanyahu. How could Israel agree with a
Brazilian lunatic?
“Devil’s
Bargain” said about Bannon that he was “a voracious autodidact” and he
“embarked upon what he described as ‘a systematic study of the world’s
religions,’” adding, “Taking up the Roman Catholic history… he moved on to
Christian mysticism and from there to Eastern metaphysics… Bannon’s reading eventually
led him to the work of René Guénon, an early-twentieth-century
early-twentieth-century French occultist and metaphysician who was raised a
Roman Catholic, practiced Freemasonry, and later became a Sufi Muslim.”
Not
different from Carvalho, who had the same experiences.
The
blatant difference is that while Bannon spent a good part of his life making
money in Wall Street and Hollywood, Carvalho spent a good part of his life
making money with astrology classes. With large experience writing occult books
and giving occult classes, he has spent his last years giving non-accredited “philosophy”
classes — where his adherents have studied for 2, 3, 7, 10 and more years,
always paying the monthly fee, but with no hope of a degree. They are kept
mystified by an unending course, which is actually a worship service to the
mind of its creator.
While
Bannon was at the White House, a U.S. headline said, “The Trump era is turning
out to be a golden age for esoteric fascist intellectuals.” This prophecy was
never fulfilled because Trump expelled Bannon from the White House.
Yet, some Brazilian headline could rightly
say, “The Bolsonaro era is turning out to be a golden age for esoteric fascist
intellectuals.” Fascist, as far as Carvalho is concerned in his advices to
Bolsonaro, is not an improper title. One of the main slogans of fascism was
“Mussolini Is Right.” Interestingly, one of the main slogans of Carvalho,
tediously repeated by his adherents, is “Olavo Tem Razão” (Olavo Is Right).
Incidentally or not, one of the most prominent advisers of Mussolini was an
adherent of Guénon.
 |
| Jair Bolsonaro holding a “Olavo Tem Razão” (Olavo Is Right) shirt |
In
his article titled “Steve Bannon Was Never That Smart,” Bill Scher asked, “How
could someone so politically reckless get a reputation as a political genius?
Bannon had been able to craft that image thanks to this one simple trick:
impressing reporters with the fact that he reads books.”
This
is the same reality regarding Carvalho.
The
Daily Beast said, “Bannon does not identify as
libertarian; he self-IDs as a right-wing, anti-globalist ‘nationalist,’ and
libertarians widely loathe Bannon. Bannon has, however, once
called himself a ‘Leninist,’ in style if not substance or
ideology.”
Not
different from Carvalho, as far as Lenin is concerned, who said, “Lenin knew
that, in politics, he who reviles the most always runs ahead.” Carvalho has
used Lenin to justify that his daily dirty comments and foul mouth are just a
Lenin’s “strategy.”
There
are many apparent contradictions in Bannon: He says that he is a Catholic, but
he has a deep fascination with mysticism and Eastern metaphysics. He says that
he is against Islamic invasion, but he greatly admires René Guénon, an Islamic
occultist. Although he once worked at Goldman Sachs — a powerful capitalist bank
—, he also described himself as a “Leninist” who wanted to “destroy the state.”
“On the one hand, he critiques capitalism with an almost Marxist fervor; on the
other, he’s an advisor to a crony capitalist real estate mogul,” said Jake
Romm, of Forward.
Not different from Carvalho, who has
similar contradictions, but not in the high-class style of Bannon.
At
the same time Bannon praises Guénon and other occultists, he says that he
rejects some of their extreme ideas.
Not
different from Carvalho, who at the same time he praises Guénon and other
occultists, he says that he rejects some of their extreme ideas.
In
his article in National Review titled “Who Was Steve Bannon?” author Kevin D.
Williamson said that Trump has told “Steve Bannon’s contribution to his rise
and his success has been grossly exaggerated. Bannon has posed as many things —
media magnate, shrewd political operative, and cold-eyed Svengali to Trump’s
undisciplined playboy — but what he actually is is a rich dilettante with a
talent for convincing other rich dilettantes that he is a deep-thinking
visionary. One of those rich dilettantes was Donald Trump.”
Carvalho
has the same contradictions, even though Bannon had an actual academic
background, while Carvalho is self-educated.
As
far as occult traditionalist connections are involved, Bolsonaro is not far
away from Bannon. He has been a propagandist of Carvalho, who has as his source
of “traditionalism” and “conservatism” Guénon, who incidentally is also
Bannon’s source.
In spite of their Guenonian inspiration and involvement, both Bannon and
Carvalho equally portray themselves as “traditionalist Catholic.” You could say
that Carvalho is a sort of unsophisticated Third World Bannon.
Even
though Catholic Bolsonaro has received massive support from evangelicals, who determined his
election,
he has been unable to disconnect himself from Carvalho’s Guenonian
traditionalism, while Trump has fully disconnected himself from Bannon’s
Guenonian traditionalism.
A
comparison between Bannon and Carvalho is appropriate not only because they are
spiritualistically similar, but because both have some connections to
Bolsonaro. Carvalho has been extensively recommended by Bolsonaro. And Bannon
was contacted by Eduardo Bolsonaro, son of Jair Bolsonaro, last August.
 |
| Eduardo Bolsonaro with Steve Bannon |
Far-right presidential candidate Jair
Bolsonaro said Thursday his campaign has no ties to former White House
strategist Steve Bannon, contradicting claims by one of Bolsonaro’s sons.
In August, the Brazilian magazine
Epoca quoted Eduardo Bolsonaro as saying Bannon “had put himself at our
disposal to help.”
In the interview, Bolsonaro said the
help would not be financial, but rather “internet tips, sometimes an analysis,
interpreting data, those kinds of things.”
Also in August, Eduardo posted on
Instagram a picture of himself with Bannon. The caption said that the two had
met and that Bannon was an “enthusiast” of his father’s candidacy and they
would “unite forces against cultural Marxism.”
Reportedly,
Bolsonaro said that connections between him and Bannon are “fake news.”
I
do not understand why Bolsonaro has denied connections to Bannon, because the
source of this “fake news” is his own son, who in a trip to the U.S. met
personally Bannon in New York, assuring his readers that Bannon is “an
enthusiast of Bolsonaro’s campaign and we are certainly in touch to join
forces,” adding that “we share the same worldview.” If they are certainly in
touch, as Bolsonaro said, why now does he treat his own news as “fake news”?
Even
though Bolsonaro has disavowed the First World Rasputin, he has not disavowed
the Third World Bannon or the Third World Rasputin. Carvalho’s influence is
better seen in his own family, where some of his children are Muslim and
another is a toothless astrologer. Could his influence on Bolsonaro and his
administration be better than in his own family?
Carvalho
has lived as a legal Brazilian immigrant in the United States for over 15
years. He has an institute in the U.S., called the Inter-American Institute
(IAI). On November 2017, I had to expose some serious ethical
problems in IAI.
Immediately after my expose, Carvalho took down the IAI website, which had
this appearance,
as of May 2018. As of October 2018, the website continues down. Before
the taking down, the IAI website had originally this appearance.
IAI
had virtually no activity outside the Internet. And one of IAI’s main
activities seemed to facilitate visa issues for
Carvalho’s family members.
Even
though Carvalho is not known among conservative Catholic and evangelical groups
in the United States, he is known among U.S. groups that follow the
Traditionalism of René Guénon. In fact, it is under production a documentary,
by geocentrist Rick Delano, with traditionalists and Carvalho has already been
interviewed for the movie. The other traditionalists interviewed are Wolfgang
Smith (like Carvalho, a Catholic adherent of Guénon) and Seyyed Hossein Nasr (an
Iranian Muslim adherent of Guénon).
Adherents of Guénon see “conservative
American evangelicalism as an aberration from historical” Catholicism. Even
though Bannon has never voiced openly such disdain for the conservative
American evangelicalism, Carvalho has voiced a number of scornful comments
against evangelicals, including his latest comment saying: “Evangelical
churches have done more harm to Brazil than the entire left.”
Trump
expelled his traditionalist Catholic adviser.
There
are not many Twitter or Facebook messages by Trump recommending Bannon. At
least, I have found nothing. But there are several Twitter and Facebook messages from Bolsonaro recommending
Carvalho.
 |
| Jair Bolsonaro: We have just made a Skype call with Professor Olavo de Carvalho in a brief chat about Brazil! Many other calls will come, God willing! |
In
his Christian mask and occult connections, Rasputin was a disaster in his
influence and advices to the Russian right-wing tsar. Trump perceived that
Bannon would be such disaster too.
Will
Bolsonaro be able to perceive the disaster of his Rasputin?
The
U.S. press called Bannon “The Great Manipulator.” The Brazilian press has not
yet called Carvalho “The Great Manipulator,” but obviously this title fits him.
Only
evangelicals and their prayers surrounding Trump could save him from an
occultist and his manipulation.
Bolsonaro
has a disadvantage: He is a Catholic. Catholics are very easy prey to Guénon’s
traditionalism and its adherents.
Only
evangelicals and their prayers surrounding Bolsonaro can save him from an
occultist and his manipulation — if he, as Trump did, allows them to do it.
With information
from Devil’s Bargain, Politico magazine, National Review, Associated Press,
American Institute for Economic Research, Newsweek, The Atlantic, New Republic
and Forward.
Portuguese
version of this article: Rasputin
de Jair Bolsonaro? Como enfraquecer um direitista
Source:
Last
Days Watchman
Recommended
Reading:
Right
Wing Watch, of People for the American Way, Attacks Jair Bolsonaro: “U.S. Right
Helps, Cheers Rise of Brazilian Authoritarian”
Recommended Reading on Olavo de
Carvalho:
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