Bolsonaro Begins 27-Year Prison Sentence for Coup Attempt
Former Brazilian President Jair bolsonaro has been ordered to begin a 27-year prison sentence after being convicted of leading a plot to overturn the results of the 2022 election. The conviction, handed down by Justice Alexandre de Moraes, marks the first time a former Brazilian president has been found guilty of attempting a coup.
The sentencing follows an inquiry into attempts to illegally retain power following Bolsonaro’s defeat to current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Several other high-ranking officials have also been convicted and are now serving time. Army generals Augusto Heleno and Paulo Sérgio Nogueira are imprisoned at a military facility in Brasilia, while former Justice Minister Anderson Torres is held at the Papuda penitentiary, also in the capital. Adm. almir garnier will serve his sentence at Navy facilities in Brasilia,and former Defense Minister Walter Braga Netto,another army general,is imprisoned at a military facility in Rio de Janeiro.
Reactions to the sentencing have been sharply divided. While some expressed outrage, with one individual stating, “I hate you, Alexandre de Moraes. You deserve hell,” others celebrated the outcome as a victory for Brazilian democracy. São Paulo city councillor Keit Lima,along with other Black women who had marched in Brasilia,marked the occasion with champagne,stating,”Today we can breathe and continue fighting for our democracy. Our democracy is young, but we wont it to live long.”
Justice de Moraes also revealed that lawmaker and former head of Brazil’s intelligence agency Alexandre Ramagem is currently at large in the United States and has ordered lower house Speaker Hugo Motta to strip Ramagem of his seat. While some within Bolsonaro’s party have discussed the possibility of an amnesty for the former president, leaders acknowledge it would likely be overturned by the Supreme Court.
Despite being ineligible to run for office until at least 2030 due to a previous ruling by Brazil’s top electoral court, Bolsonaro’s prison sentence is expected to extend that ineligibility to 2033. Polls indicate he would remain a competitive candidate if allowed to run in next year’s election.
The case has drawn international attention, with former U.S. President Donald Trump calling the trial a “witch hunt.” Bolsonaro and Trump share a political alliance. The U.S.initially responded with a July order to raise tariffs on several Brazilian exports by 50 percent, but most of those tariffs have since been dropped following an improved relationship between Lula and Trump, who met at the ASEAN summit in October. The U.S. also imposed sanctions on de Moraes and other Brazilian officials, but these measures did not prevent the trial from proceeding. Lula’s popularity reportedly benefited from the perception that he was defending Brazilian sovereignty.
bolsonaro is not the only former Brazilian president to face imprisonment. Michel Temer (2016-2018) and Lula have both previously been incarcerated, and Fernando Collor de Mello (1990-1992) is currently under house arrest due to a corruption conviction. Though, Bolsonaro is the first to be convicted of attempting a coup.
