Unlock Editor’s Digest Lock for Free
FT editor Roula Khalaf will select your favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Former Brazilian leader, Jea Bolsonaro, has been officially charged with a coup suspect in order to remain in power after losing the 2022 election to President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva.
The right-right politician has been accused by the country’s attorney general of leading a “criminal organisation” to overturn democracy in Latin America’s most populous country.
Prosecutors said 33 other people were involved in the plot, including resigning or serving Bolsonaro’s vice presidential candidate, General Walter Braga Nett and nearly 20 military personnel. The plot included a plan to assassinate Lula to prevent him from taking office, prosecutors alleged.
The Brazilian Supreme Court must consider the charges and decide whether to proceed to trial. If convicted, Bolsonaro, President Donald Trump’s ally, could face a lengthy prison sentence.
Bolsonaro, a former army captain and darling of the Brazilian right-wing movement, has previously portrayed himself as a victim of politically motivated persecution. He has already been declared unqualified to run for public office until 2030 due to an attack on the country’s electoral system.
He is also facing two other lawsuits over the illegal sale of the gem given to him as head of state over allegedly forgery of a Covid-19 vaccine certificate.
In his filing before the Supreme Court, Attorney General Paulo Gonette said, “Accusations explaining the conduct committed by the president of the Republic, which forms structured criminal organizations with other civil and military figures to prevent the outcome of popularity. said because the 2022 election took place.”
The charges were based on a detailed federal police report last November.
Bolsonaro’s legal team said the former president “has never supported a move aimed at democratic rule of law or dismantling its institutions.”
“Despite almost two years of research… No elements were found that remotely linked the president to the story built in the complaint.”
The conspirator of the “green and yellow dagger” plot, named after the Brazilian flag, kills Lula and his running companion, Gerald Alcumin, weeks before the extradition of power in December 2022. It is said that he was planning to do something. Supreme Court’s Alexandre des Moraes was also targeted for the assassination, according to prosecutors.
Some of the accused were commander of the Brazilian Navy, former former Justice Minister of Justice and former Secretary of State.
The plan was ultimately not implemented, the report said it was due to lack of support among Army commanders. However, according to Gonette, Bolsonaro knew about his plan to kill Lula and agreed.
Recommended
Police said the criminal organization began in June 2021. Authorities also referenced Bolsonaro’s repeated attacks on Brazil’s electronic voting system in preparation for his defeat. Bolsonaro claimed that the digital ballot box was vulnerable to fraud without providing evidence.
Investigators also linked the coup attempt to a riot in Brasilia on January 8, 2023.
Many of the mobs claimed that Bolsonaro was equipped with a slightly lost presidential election and sought military Putsch. Hundreds of convictions have been found and many provide custody.
Recently, the former president tried to rally conservative forces in Congress to pass a pardon law for unrest-related crimes. Opponents see it as a tactic to support Bolsonaro’s own cause.
