Bolsominion (from the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

''minion'') is a

pejorative term A pejorative word, phrase, slur, or derogatory term is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hostility ...

used by opponents of former

Brazilian President The president of Brazil (), officially the president of the Federative Republic of Brazil () or simply the ''President of the Republic'', is the head of state and head of government of Brazil. The president leads the executive branch of the ...

Jair Bolsonaro Jair Messias Bolsonaro (; born 21 March 1955) is a Brazilian politician and former military officer who served as the 38th president of Brazil from 2019 to 2023. He previously served as a member of Brazil's Chamber of Deputies (Brazil), Chamb ...

to refer to a segment of his supporters. The word is an

amalgamation Amalgamation is the process of combining or uniting multiple entities into one form. Amalgamation, amalgam, and other derivatives may refer to: Mathematics and science * Amalgam (chemistry), the combination of mercury with another metal **Pan ama ...

combining the first half of the surname

Bolsonaro Jair Messias Bolsonaro (; born 21 March 1955) is a Brazilian politician and former military officer who served as the 38th president of Brazil from 2019 to 2023. He previously served as a member of Brazil's Chamber of Deputies from 1991 to 20 ...

, and the word ''minion'' ("servant", "follower"), which is also the name of the

characters Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to Theoph ...

in the ''

Despicable Me ''Despicable Me'' is an American media franchise created by Sergio Pablos, Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio. It centers on a supervillain turned secret agent named Gru, his adoptive daughters, Margo, Edith, and Agnes, and his yellow-colored Minions ...

'' franchise. The term gained prominence in Brazilian media with the rise of Bolsonaro throughout his 2018 presidential campaign.

Ideology

In general, bolsominions are described as

extreme right-wing Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

people who are uncompromising, reactionary and adept at

military intervention Interventionism, in international politics, is the interference of a state or group of states into the domestic affairs of another state for the purposes of coercing that state to do something or refrain from doing something. The intervention ca ...

to solve problems related to

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

security Security is protection from, or resilience against, potential harm (or other unwanted coercion). Beneficiaries (technically referents) of security may be persons and social groups, objects and institutions, ecosystems, or any other entity or ...

. They often use the term "''esquerdopata''" (pathological left) to refer to opponents, which is a term used on the internet to treat leftist ideology as a disease (

psychopathy Psychopathy, or psychopathic personality, is a personality construct characterized by impaired empathy and remorse, along with bold, disinhibited, and egocentric traits. These traits are often masked by superficial charm and immunity ...

), to which its opponents usually respond by using the term "''direitopata''" (pathological right) to designate them. They see the relationship between military intervention and morality as closely linked factors and they are, in general, antagonistic to agendas considered progressive. Many are also supporters of the

Trump administration Presidency of Donald Trump may refer to: * First presidency of Donald Trump, the United States presidential administration from 2017 to 2021 * Second presidency of Donald Trump, the United States presidential administration since 2025 See also * ...

Use

In 2019, federal deputy

Eduardo Bolsonaro Eduardo Nantes Bolsonaro (born 10 July 1984) is a Brazilian politician, lawyer and federal police officer. He is the third child of Jair Bolsonaro, the former president of Brazil. Since March 2022 he has been affiliated with the Liberal Part ...

celebrated his 35th birthday with a party themed around Minions, the characters from the ''

'' franchise, which was reported as referring to the term Bolsominion.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * {{Portalbar, Brazil, Conservatism Conservatism in Brazil Political pejoratives for people Far-right politics in Brazil Political terminology Right-wing populism in South America Political neologisms Jair Bolsonaro Authoritarianism