Brazil accuses Bolsonaro of attempting a coup

Former Brazilian president, Jia Bolsonaro, was charged on Tuesday with overseeing a vast plan to get into power after losing the 2022 election. Selected.

The charges laid out in the 272-page indictment suggest that Brazil is in fact surprisingly close to returning to a military dictatorship towards modern democracy of nearly 40 years.

Attorney General Paulo Gonette Blanco has accused Bolsonaro and 33 other people, including former spy chief, defense minister and national security adviser, of a string of crimes against Brazil's democracy. The charges essentially adopted recommendations from Brazilian federal police in November.

The case moves ahead of the Brazilian Supreme Court. This decides whether to order Mr. Bolsonaro's arrest and whether he will be brought to trial. According to the charges, if convicted, he could face 12-40 years in prison, but political analysts expect his sentence to be shorter.

In a statement, Bolsonaro, 69, called the charges “weaponization of the judicial system,” compared them to President Trump, a political ally he often emulates.

The accusation is “a merely a desperate attempt to criminalize my political movement, silence millions of Brazilians, and to step down the next election before one vote is held.” He added that he had handed over power peacefully. “This is the same failed strategy used against President Trump.”

The accusation is the latest chapter in a longtime Brazilian saga that includes credibility in Bolsonaro's referendum system. A tense election in which Bolsonaro did not fully accept his defeat. invasion of the hall of power by his supporters. And a prominent investigation that has put his running mates in prison since December.

Now, Brazilians may witness a televised Supreme Court trial that could have made Bolsonaro the third president in the last eight years to send him to prison.

It would provide a prominent contrast to the US. Both Bolsonaro and Trump are charged with pushing for overturning the election. But while Trump's case was dropped when he returned to power, Bolsonaro is probably at his weakest political point.

Brazil's election court has already ruled that Bolsonaro is not eligible to compete in the presidential election next year. The Attorney General is weighing two other criminal cases against him. And the Supreme Court judge set up to oversee this case is undoubtedly his political convention.

The US Supreme Court held that Trump was not significantly immune from prosecuting his actions as president, but the Brazilian Supreme Court acted proactively against Bolsonaro and his right-wing movement.

The court oversaw the investigation, ordered an arrest, censored many of Bolsonaro's supporters on social media, arguing that the anti-democratic actions of his movement require extraordinary response. Now, the justice of the 11 people in the court was able to determine the fate of Mr. Bolsonaro.

“In the Republic, everything can be held liable,” writes Gonet Branco in his 17-page introduction accompanying the indictment. “The President of the Republic cannot escape this rule.”

The indictment details various actions that prosecutors have carried out over the course of months by Bolsonaro and dozens of his allies (mainly current or former members). First they tried to undermine the public's belief in the 2022 election. And after Bolsonaro was defeated, they tried to overturn the outcome, the indictment said. He also detailed several plots that the prosecutors say the group began to discuss, but were eventually abandoned.

According to the indictment, one of these conspiracies involved declaring a “state of siege” (an emergency clause in the constitution). Mr. Bolsonaro will use it to order the arrest of Supreme Court judges, grant new powers to the military, and seek new elections overseen by his allies. Investigators said they found a draft speech that Bolsonaro announced the takeover.

The even darker conspiracy was linked to the addiction of Louise Inacio Lula da Silva, who defeated Bolsonaro in the 2022 election, according to prosecutors. To Mr. Bolsonaro, he will become the chief judge at his trial. The assassination was to be carried out by a small group of elite military agents, according to the indictment, and the men had already begun tracking Judge Moraes's moves.

The indictment also says that an assassination plan has been presented to Bolsonaro. In a WhatsApp message on December 12, 2022, one organizer on the plot said Bolsonaro said that the assassination could be carried out at any time by December 31st, according to the charges. Mr. Lula was scheduled to be launched on January 1st.

“I said, 'Now, President. The sooner the better. We've already lost so many opportunities,” organizer Mario Fernandez was quoted as saying in the message. .

Fernandez denied the charges.

In an interview last month, Bolsonaro said he explored the idea of ​​using “siege” to prevent Lula from taking office because he was worried that the election was being equipped. However, he said he quickly dropped the idea when it became clear that Congress had to approve the order.

He denied having knowledge of the assassination plot and condemned it to Mr. Fernandez. “Even so, I think it was just another fantasy — bravado,” he said.

“Everyone is responsible for their actions,” added Bolsonaro. “But as far as I know, he did not do anything.”

Brazil was ruled by a military dictatorship from 1964 to 1985. The murder of the administration's political opponents is the focus of the Brazilian film “I'm Still Here,” which was nominated for Best Photo at this year's Academy Awards.

Former Army captain Bolsonaro has long defended military dictatorship, believing that he saved Brazil from communism. In an interview last month, he said he didn't think “I'm still here,” calling it a rewrite of the left wing of history. “There are always two aspects to a story,” he said.

Ju Faddul contributed to a report from Sao Paulo, Brazil.