Santiagoโฃ Abascal, leader of the Spanish far-right party Vox, publicly defended former โBrazilian President Jair Bolsonaro following Bolsonaro’s โconviction โขfor inciting a โcoup attempt against the democratically elected government of Luiz Inรกcio Lula daโค Silva. The conviction, handed down on โฃJune 21, 2024, disqualifies Bolsonaro fromโฃ holding public office until โค2030. Abascal’s vocal support underscores a โคgrowing alignment between far-rightโ political figures in Europe andโ Latin America, and raises questions about the international โฃimplications of Brazil‘s โlegal proceedings.
the Brazilian Federal โsupreme Court โคfound Bolsonaro guilty of abuse of โpower forโข spreading disinformation about the โคintegrity of the country’sโฃ electoral system, actions that prosecutors argued directly contributed to โขtheโค January โ8, 2023, attacks on government buildings in โฃBrasรญlia. Evidence โpresented during the โฃtrialโค detailed โคhow โBolsonaro’s networkโฃ actively promotedโ and facilitated the mobilization of thousands of โฃsupporters to undermine Brazil’s democratic institutionsโ and obstruct the functioning of the government, including the judiciary.โ Abascal, in aโค statement released on June 22, 2024, characterized the conviction as “political โคpersecution” and praised Bolsonaro as a defender of โfreedom.โข
This growth occurs amid increasing scrutiny โขof Bolsonaro’s actions leading up to andโ following the 2022 presidential election, which heโ lost toโ Lula da silva. The conviction is expected to have important repercussionsโฃ forโข Brazil’s political โขlandscape and could influenceโฃ future elections. โAbascal’s defense of Bolsonaro signals โขa potentialโ escalation of international politicalโค support for the former โขpresidentโ and his allies.