The far-right chief has posted a rebuttal on social media, accusing Brazil’s authorities of being an ‘authoritarian regime’.
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has dismissed what he known as “obscure accusations” towards him after he was indicted over an tried coup to remain in workplace following his 2022 election defeat.
On Wednesday, in a prolonged publish on the social media platform X, Bolsonaro stated that the legal fees towards him and 33 different individuals have been the results of an “authoritarian regime” that should “manufacture inside enemies”.
“The trick of accusing democratic opposition leaders of plotting coups is nothing new,” Bolsonaro wrote.
He in contrast his indictment to efforts in Venezuela, Cuba, Bolivia and Nicaragua, all international locations led by leftist governments, the place he stated leaders have accused opposition members of being “coup plotters”.
“It’s like that all around the world,” Bolsonaro added. “The playbook is well-known: They fabricate obscure accusations, declare to be involved about democracy or sovereignty, and persecute opponents, silence dissenting voices and focus energy.”
– 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
— Jair M. Bolsonaro (@jairbolsonaro) February 19, 2025
Bolsonaro’s feedback come a day after Brazilian authorities charged the former president with devising a multipronged scheme to stay in energy following his 2022 electoral loss to present President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Amongst different fees, prosecutors accused Bolsonaro and dozens of his supporters of plotting to poison Lula and shoot useless Supreme Court docket Justice Alexandre de Moraes, a foe of the previous president.
Different defendants within the indictment embody former ministers and an ex-navy chief.
“The duty for acts dangerous to the democratic order falls upon a legal organisation led by Jair Messias Bolsonaro, based mostly on an authoritarian venture of energy,” the charging doc said.
Bolsonaro, a former military captain who served as president from 2019 to 2022, is unlikely to be arrested earlier than his trial until de Moraes, who’s overseeing the case, deems him a flight threat.
The indictment marks the primary time Brazilian authorities have charged the right-wing populist chief with against the law.
It represents a brand new blow to the 69-year-old, who had been planning an more and more unlikely political comeback. He’s at present barred from holding public workplace till 2030.
This week’s fees observe a two-year Brazilian federal police investigation that concluded in November.
It probed Bolsonaro’s alleged position in main an election-denying motion that culminated in 1000’s of his supporters rioting in the country’s capital, Brasilia, in January 2023.
Throughout the riot, Bolsonaro supporters clashed with police and broke into buildings for the presidency, Congress and the Supreme Court docket, looting and inflicting harm.
Observers in contrast the occasions to the assault on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, when supporters of US President Donald Trump tried to disrupt the certification of his 2020 defeat.
Bolsonaro has repeatedly denied involvement within the riot, mentioning he was in Florida on the time.
Responding to journalists’ questions in regards to the fees on Wednesday, Lula stated that everybody is entitled to the presumption of innocence.
“In the event that they show that they didn’t try a coup, and in the event that they show that they didn’t try and kill the president, the vp and the president of the Supreme Electoral Court docket, they are going to be free,” Lula stated. “If when judges trial they arrive to the conclusion that they’re responsible, they should pay for the crime they dedicated.”
