Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced on Thursday to conspiracy for a coup meant to keep him in power after losing the elections in 2022, a strong blow to the far-right populist movement, Reuters notes.
The decision, pronounced by the majority of a full five judges of the Supreme Court, makes Bolsonaro the first former president of Brazil's history sentenced to attack democracy. Three judges voted for conviction, one for payment, and one is to be pronounced. However, the simple majority was sufficient for the conviction of the former president, who risks decades ago. The sentence is to be pronounced on Friday, according to the BBC.
Bolsonaro's conviction, former army captain who has never hidden his admiration for the military dictatorship responsible for hundreds of Brazilians between 1964 and 1985, is in the series of harsh verdicts this year against extreme right leaders, including Marine Le Pen in France and Rodrigo Dutete.
The decision risks getting even more angry with Bolsonaro's nearby ally, US President Donald Trump, who has already qualified the case as a “witch hunt” and has imposed Brazil higher customs duties, sanctions against the judge who presides over the case and the cancellation of visas for most members of the Supreme Court.
The verdict was not unanimous. Judge Luiz Fux voted on Wednesday in favor of paying the former president of all accusations.
This singular vote could open the way of appeals to the decision, which could approach the process of the pre -period of the presidential elections of 2026, to which Bolsonaro has repeatedly stated that he wants to run, despite the prohibition to hold public positions.
The vote of Fux also aroused a wave of relief among the supporters of the former president, who greeted him as a proof of justice.
“When coherence and sense of justice prevail over revenge and lie, there is no room for cruel persecutions or biased judgments,” wrote Michelle Bolsonaro, the wife of the former president, after the vote of Fx.
From the back bank to the presidency
Bolsonaro's conviction marks the lowest point of his political trajectory, from the marginal role in Parliament to the formation of a strong conservative coalition that has tested the limits of the still young democratic institutions.
His political road began after a brief career as a parachutist in the army, when he became a municipal councilor in Rio de Janeiro, in the late 1980s. He was then elected deputy in Brasília, where he was quickly known by defending policies from the authoritarian period, even in the early years of Brazilian democracy.
His reputation as a radical politician was fueled by interviews such as one in which he stated that Brazil will change only “on the day we will burst into a civil war and do the job that the military regime did not: kill 30,000 people.”
Although for a long time he was regarded as a marginal character, Bolsonaro gradually adapted his message, emphasizing anti-corruption and pro-family values. They caught roots against the background of mass protests broke out in Brazil in 2014, during the huge corruption scandal “Car Wash”, which involved hundreds of politicians – including President Luiz Incio Lula Da Silva, whose conviction was later canceled.
The anti-system anger, increasingly powerful in the Brazilian society, prepared the land for Bolsonaro's victory in the 2018 presidential elections, when dozens of far-right and conservative parliamentarians were elected on the wave of its popularity. They remodeled the Congress in a lasting obstacle for Lula's progressive agenda.
His presidential mandate was marked by deep skepticism against pandemic and vaccines, as well as support for illegal mining and massive deforestation for grazing of cattle, which led to increase in Amazon to record levels.
As the close confrontation was approaching 2022 with Lula – elections that the latter would win – Bolsonaro's statements have become more and more messianic accents, raising question marks on his availability to accept the result.
“I have three alternatives for my future: to be arrested, killed or victorious,” he said in 2021, at a meeting with evangelical leaders. “No man on earth will threaten me.”
In 2023, the Electoral Court of Brazil, which supervises the elections, declared ineligible by 2030 because it spread unfounded charges regarding the voting system of the country.
Puci attempt of former Brazilian president
The accusations are related to Bolsonaro's alleged incitement at the January 2023 riots, when thousands of his supporters stormed the Congress, the Presidential Palace and the Supreme Court of the capital Brasilia. The lawyers of the former president, however, supported his innocence on all the charges.
The historical significance of the case far beyond the person of the former president and his movement, says Carlos Fico, a historian specialized in the study of the Brazilian army at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.
On January 8, 2022, thousands of Bolsonaro's partisans vandalized the places of power in the capital of Brazil, calling on a military intervention to overthrow the president Luiz Incio Lula Da Silva, one week after his investment.
The damage was considerable, in scenes reminiscent of the attack on the Washington chapter by Donald Trump's supporters on January 6, 2021.
Four other defendants found culprits come from the military environment, including Walter Braga Netto, the candidate for Bolsonaro's vice -presidency in the 2022 elections. The verdict marks the first time, almost 140 years ago, when military officers are punished for trying to overthrow democracy.
“The process is an alarm signal for the armed forces,” Fico said. “They probably realize that something has changed, considering that so far there has been no punishment, and now there is.”
