Brazil ex-President Bolsonaro plotted election coup: Police report

Brazilian national constabulary person published a study implicating erstwhile far-right President Jair Bolsonaro successful an alleged transgression organisation designed to overturn the 2022 statesmanlike election, won by his leftist challenger and existent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The 884-page report, made nationalist connected Tuesday, outlined 8 main pieces of grounds against Bolsonaro, including an alleged gathering helium took with members of Brazil’s equipped forces to program the coup.

“The grounds collected passim the probe shows unequivocally that then-President Jair Messias Bolsonaro planned, acted and was straight and efficaciously alert of the actions of the transgression organisation aiming to motorboat a coup d’etat and destruct the antiauthoritarian regularisation of law,” the study explained.

Prior to its release, the study was sent to Brazil’s apical prosecutor, Paulo Gonet, who has yet to determine whether to bring charges against Bolsonaro.

The study expands connected bombshell accusations past week that Bolsonaro and 36 others conspired to clasp power, adjacent successful the lawsuit of an electoral defeat.

Among the officials named were erstwhile Minister of Defence Walter Braga Netto, ex-National Security Adviser Augusto Heleno, erstwhile Minister of Justice and Public Security Anderson Torres and the caput of Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party, Valdemar Costa Neto.

The constabulary accusations are the latest successful a drawstring of investigations and ineligible woes for Bolsonaro, who led Brazil from 2019 to 2022.

Bolsonaro has denied each claims helium tried to enactment successful bureau aft his constrictive electoral decision successful October 2022.

But already, his baseless claims astir the accuracy of the predetermination person prompted Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court (TSE) to barroom him from holding bureau again until 2030.

A tense election

In the lead-up to the 2022 election, Bolsonaro made mendacious and unsubstantiated claims connected the run way that Brazil’s physics voting machines could not beryllium trusted, laying the groundwork for a contested predetermination months earlier the archetypal ballot was cast.

The contention ended successful a run-off, with Lula emerging up by conscionable implicit 2.1 cardinal votes. Experts called it the closest contention since Brazil’s instrumentality to ideology successful the 1980s.

But Bolsonaro refused to publically concede defeat, and his supporters took to the streets successful protest. They blocked highways, attacked police headquarters successful the superior Brasilia, and adjacent were implicated successful a bomb threat against the incoming president.

Tensions boiled implicit connected January 8, 2023, a week aft Lula was sworn into office.

Thousands of Bolsonaro supporters descended connected the Three Powers Plaza, a quadrate successful Brasilia that houses the statesmanlike palace, the Supreme Court and some houses of Congress.

They broke into the authorities buildings, looting and destroying spot successful the evident anticipation of sparking a “military intervention” that would region Lula from power.

Critics of Bolsonaro person agelong questioned his relation successful the events, though Bolsonaro has staunchly denied participating.

Leaked recordings

But leaked audio recordings suggest high-ranking members of the Brazilian Army were progressive successful conspiring to support Bolsonaro successful power.

On Monday, The Associated Press obtained the audio recordings, which day from the weeks starring up to Lula’s inauguration successful precocious 2022.

In the 53 recordings, immoderate subject officers tin beryllium heard expressing their tendency to support Lula from taking office.

One signaling features Colonel Roberto Raimundo Criscuoli, a erstwhile sub-commander of the army’s peculiar forces. He tells retired Brigadier General Mario Fernandes — who was, astatine the time, 2nd successful bid to the wide caput of the presidency — that Bolsonaro had a wide prime astir however to respond to the election.

“It volition beryllium either a civilian warfare present oregon civilian warfare later. We person a justification present for civilian war. People are connected the streets. We person monolithic support,” Criscuoli said.

“Let’s bash this now. Speak to 01,” helium said, utilizing a codification for Brazil’s president.

Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is overseeing the national police’s sprawling probe into Bolsonaro, quoted immoderate of the recordings successful a ruling past week ordering the apprehension of 5 radical for plotting the assassination of then-President-elect Lula successful precocious 2022.

Last week, Bolsonaro told the Brazilian quality website Metropoles that constabulary accusations were the effect of “creativity”, not fact. He added his lawyers were reviewing the substance and would combat the accusations.

Source

:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies