Brazil Prosecutor Accuses Former President Jair Bolsonaro of Plotting Coup
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Brazil’s chief prosecutor has accused former President Jair Bolsonaro of leading an attempted coup following his defeat by his left-wing rival in the 2022 presidential election.
The alleged plot aimed to prevent Bolsonaros successor, President Luiz Incio Lula da Silva, from taking office and included a plan to poison him. However, Bolsonaro, aged 69, denies any wrongdoing and claims he is the victim of a political witch hunt.
It now falls upon Brazil’s Supreme Court to decide whether to accept the prosecutor’s charges and proceed with trials for Bolsonaro and 33 others accused in the plot. The court has not set a deadline for its decision, but legal experts quoted in Brazilian media predict that it will rule favorably for a trial.
Brazil remains deeply divided two-and-a-half years after the bitter presidential election. Critics of Bolsonaro celebrated news of the charges, stating he belongs in jail, while his supporters maintain his innocence.
The case hinges on Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes’s assessment of the prosecutors allegations and decision to proceed with a trial. The outcome could have significant implications for Brazils upcoming 2026 presidential election despite Bolsonaro being barred from running until 2030 due to his false claims about voting fraud.
In his 272-page report, Attorney-General Paulo Gonet concluded that Bolsonaro and the other accused formed a criminal group attempting to instigate a coup against Lula’s government. The document alleges they tried coordinated actions to prevent the election result from being fulfilled, including plans to poison him and harm Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.
The prosecutors charges are based on police investigations into events leading up to January 8th, 2023, when Bolsonaro supporters stormed government buildings in Braslia. Part of the buildings were ransacked and over a thousand people were arrested during the riot. However, Bolsonaro was out of Brazil at the time.
The prosecutors report alleges that Bolsonaro began sowing doubts about Brazil’s voting system as early as July 2021, which fueled those who stormed Congress in January. Legal experts expect this trial to potentially serve as a platform for Bolsonaro to promote his agenda despite not being eligible to run again.
Bolsonaros lawyers were astonished by the accusations and insisted that their client had never supported any movement aimed at dismantling Brazil’s democratic rule of law or institutions supporting it. They claim the prosecutor has fabricated an implausible narrative unlikely to hold up in court.
