In Brazil, Bolsonaro’s inner circle remains at the center of a political storm that reverberates through the governing agenda of his administration. During the far-right administration from 2019 to 2023, there were claims of a “parallel” intelligence operation inside the government, linked to Abin. The Federal Police (PF) continues to scrutinize Carlos Bolsonaro, who at 41 has a modest post as a Rio de Janeiro city councilor but plays a dominant role in his father’s political orbit. Investigators first targeted Alexandre Ramagem, Abin’s head, as a potential organizer of illicit espionage. The police response included raids on the Rio mayor’s residence. Ramagem and the former president’s son are not strangers, and media reports have painted a different picture than the police narrative. The former officer turned congressman is widely seen as closely connected to Carlos Bolsonaro.
According to Folha de S. Paulo, evidence cited by the PF regarding Carlos’s involvement in the “parallel Abin” centers on a message from one of the councilor’s aides asking Ramagem to gather information on investigations involving the then president and his family. The aide, Luciana Almeida, contacted the intermediary for the spymaster, Priscilla Silva, and later sent more detailed data. The exchange was recovered from Ramagem’s mobile device.
Here is a portion of the Attorney General’s Office statement about the PF search request: the help being sought related to investigations involving the then-president, his children, and their associates. The PF described a political core around “Carlos” as a possible front for a criminal faction designed to track the movements and public and private actions of opponents of the presidential family, as well as judicial cases involving them. Reports indicate the existence of a software, First Mile, described as capable of infecting phones and tracking thousands of individuals, including occasional allies of the government.
secret actions
Supreme Court minister Alexandre de Moraes warned that the new evidence demonstrates a substantial breach: the criminal network may have infiltrated Abin to carry out covert actions against people deemed ideological dissidents.
Public online exchanges show back-and-forth commentary about the controversy. A post from a public figure criticizes operational missteps and questions whether sensitive data was misused. In response, Bolsonaro’s legal team argued that the search was excessive and insisted that none of Bolsonaro’s belongings were seized, despite extensive room-to-room searches in the residence. They framed the operation as an attempt to damage the former president’s reputation.
Bolsonaro, who is barred from elective office until 2030 due to questions about the transparency of the October 2022 elections, has seen Lula da Silva assume leadership of the country. The former captain is also under scrutiny for potential involvement in the January 8, 2023, incidents and other related matters. PF investigators are examining whether family members and close associates benefited from public institutions, personnel, and equipment, including alleged use of illicit resources such as the First Mile program.
Commentators note that the political network surrounding Bolsonaro extended beyond Carlos to his brothers, Senator Flávio and Deputy Eduardo, with claims that the family’s public outreach and information campaigns sometimes blurred the lines between government work and political strategy. Eliane Cantanhêde observes that this pattern was evident not only in Carlos’s 2018 campaign work—where it’s alleged he manipulated information and cultivated favorable coverage—but also in ongoing government operations, including the use of public apparatus to support political messaging and, allegedly, the employment of informal channels and tools for political advantage.
Hidden threats
Columnist Merval Pereira notes that the issue of illegal espionage is not solely tied to recent history. He points to lingering ties between Ramagem’s circle and Abin, suggesting the infiltration might persist years later. The ongoing investigation is framed as a challenge for the leadership to address.
A short time before PF acted, the Bolsonaro family participated in a public meeting described as lively, aligning with far-right efforts on social platforms. The event aimed to solidify political footing ahead of October’s municipal elections, moving beyond mere messaging to actively preparing potential candidates for a Bolsonarist movement. The former president appeared on screen wearing a national team jersey and endorsed a printed ballot method, while reiterating criticisms of electronic voting. The broadcast, hosted on an online political education platform, drew tens of thousands of participants, with recruitment costs set at approximately 2,000 euros for each candidate joining the new wave of Bolsonarism.
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