Bolsonaro claimed on Wednesday that an “authoritarian regime” that needs to “manufacture internal enemies” was responsible for the criminal charges against him and 33 others in a lengthy post on the social media platform X.
Bolsonaro argued that “the ruse is nothing new” when accusing democratic opposition leaders of plotting coups.
He compared his indictment to efforts in Venezuela, Cuba, Bolivia and Nicaragua, all countries led by leftist governments, where he said leaders have accused opposition members of being “coup plotters”.
“It’s like that all over the world”, Bolsonaro added. “The playbook is well-known: They fabricate vague accusations, claim to be concerned about democracy or sovereignty, and persecute opponents, silence dissenting voices and concentrate power”.
– O mundo está atento ao que se passa no Brasil. O truque de acusar líderes da oposição democrática de tramar golpes não é algo novo: todo regime autoritário, em sua ânsia pelo poder, precisa fabricar inimigos internos para justificar perseguições, censuras e prisões arbitrárias. … pic. twitter.com/VGM7hcAj2v
Following his 2022 electoral defeat to current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Brazilian authorities charged the former president with developing a multifaceted plan to stay in power.
Bolsonaro and numerous of his supporters are accused, among other things, of plotting to poison Lula and shoot dead Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, a former president’s foe, according to prosecutors.
Former ministers and an ex-navy chief are the other defendants in the indictment.
According to the charging document, “a criminal organization led by Jair Messias Bolsonaro and funded by an authoritarian project of power” bears the brunt of the responsibility for acts against the democratic order.
Bolsonaro, a former army captain who served as president from 2019 to 2022, is unlikely to be arrested before his trial unless de Moraes, who is overseeing the case, deems him a flight risk.
The right-wing populist leader has been indicted for the first time by Brazilian authorities.
It represents a new blow to the 69-year-old, who had been planning an increasingly unlikely political comeback. He is currently prohibited from serving in public until 2030.
Following a two-year Brazilian federal police investigation that came to an end in November, these charges come this week.
It probed Bolsonaro’s alleged role in leading an election-denying movement that culminated in thousands of his supporters rioting in the country’s capital, Brasilia, in January 2023.
During the riot, Bolsonaro supporters clashed with police and broke into buildings for the presidency, Congress and the Supreme Court, looting and causing damage.
Observers compared the events to the 2021 attack at the US Capitol, where Donald Trump’s supporters attempted to obstruct the confirmation of his 2020 defeat.
Bolsonaro has pointed out that he was in Florida at the time of the riot on numerous occasions.
Lula said that everyone has a right to the presumption of innocence when she responded to journalists’ questions on Wednesday.
Source: Aljazeera
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