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Statements from high-ranking military officials show that Jair Bolsonaro is said to have planned to stay in power through a coup.
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro actually wanted to accept an invitation from his ally Benjamin Netanyahu to Israel in May. But nothing will come of the trip. Bolsonaro is not allowed to leave Brazil.
The background is the judiciary’s investigations against Bolsonaro in several cases. The allegations: embezzlement of state gifts and falsification of vaccination passports during the corona pandemic. A third case is about nothing less than Brazilian democracy: Bolsonaro is suspected of planning an attempted coup after he was voted out at the end of 2022 in order to stay in power.
His lawyer dismisses it: there’s nothing to it. But the court seems to think otherwise. There was even a suspicion that there was a risk of absconding, so Bolsonaro’s passport was confiscated.
What role did Jair Bolsonaro play?
The images of an angry mob that devastated the capital’s institutions on January 8, 2023 and held banners calling for a military coup are still well remembered in Brazil. Many people ask themselves: What role did Jair Bolsonaro play? Shortly before, he had lost the elections, but never explicitly acknowledged Lula da Silva’s victory.
Legend:
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro at a Partido Liberal party event in Brasilia on March 27.
Keystone/EPA, Andre Borges
Guilherme Simões Reis is a politics professor at the Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO) and is following the investigation in all its details. There are many indications that Bolsonaro was actually planning a coup. “But he lacked support in the military,” explains Simões Reis. “The commanders of the air force and army confirmed the coup plans in their statements, but were against them. Only the naval leadership was in favor of a classic military coup.”
It is therefore becoming increasingly difficult for Bolsonaro to defend himself against the allegations: “The evidence is piling up.” This includes a draft decree declaring a state of defense. In other words, Bolsonaro may have been planning to annul the election results.
Long before the elections, Bolsonaro had repeatedly raised doubts about the electoral system. The Supreme Court recognized this as a “disinformation campaign” and decided last year that Bolsonaro would not be allowed to run for public office until 2030.
Intensified investigations
There have been repeated rumors in recent months that Bolsonaro’s arrest was imminent. Most recently in February, when the investigation intensified and some of Bolsonaro’s confidants were arrested.
This week it came out: During this time, of all times, the former president spent two days in the Hungarian embassy. This is proven by images from the embassy’s surveillance cameras, which were published by the New York Times. Many in Brazil are wondering: Did Bolsonaro possibly want to apply for political asylum and thus avoid arrest? Domestic authorities have no access to embassies.
The judiciary is investigating and the Foreign Ministry has summoned a representative of the Hungarian embassy for next week. The ex-president, in turn, sees himself as a politically persecuted person. It was only for political discussions in the embassy: “I maintain friendships with heads of state from all over the world. Point.”