The former president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, has been charged by the Federal Prosecutor’s Office (PGR) for his alleged involvement in the events that led to the invasion of the Brazilian government headquarters on January 8, 2023.
Bolsonaro is accused of five crimes: attempted violent abolition of the democratic state of law, coup d’état, armed criminal organization, qualified damage by violence and serious threat, and deterioration of protected heritage. If the charges are accepted by the Supreme Federal Court (STF) and result in a conviction, the total sentences could amount to 43 years in prison.
According to the prosecutors, the alleged conspiracy aimed to prevent Bolsonaro’s successor, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, from taking office and included a plan to poison Lula.
In addition to Bolsonaro, 33 other people are accused of participating in the attempted coup.
Bolsonaro made a statement after the charges. On the social media platform X, without presenting evidence, Bolsonaro accused the PGR of “fabricating false accusations.” He claimed that “the world is watching what is happening in Brazil.”
Claiming persecution, the former president said that Brazil had become “authoritarian.” “Every authoritarian regime, in its thirst for power, needs to fabricate internal enemies to justify persecutions, censorship, and arbitrary imprisonments,” he said.
Evidence against Bolsonaro was mainly gathered after the testimony of Lieutenant Colonel Mauro Cid, a former aide to the presidency, who made a deal to reveal everything he knew in exchange for a short prison sentence.
In a sign of how divided Brazil remains two and a half years after Lula’s election, Bolsonaro’s critics celebrated the charges, saying the former president should be in prison, while his supporters insist he is innocent and a victim of persecution.
The focus now is on Supreme Federal Court Minister Alexandre de Moraes, who will have to weigh the merits of the charges made by the chief prosecutor and decide whether the case should proceed to the trial phase.
Sources: Uol and BBC
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