Now officially charged, Bolsonaro denies having drafted coup decree
Shortly after having the coup d’état accusations against him accepted by Brazil’s Supreme Court, former president Jair Bolsonaro on Wednesday (Mar. 26) denied he had drafted a coup decree with the commanders of the Armed Forces to suspend the 2022 elections, as the prosecutor-general claims in the charges.
“Before a hypothetical signing of a decree for a state of defense, as stated in Article 136 of the Constitution, the president of Brazil must convene the Council of the Republic and the Council of Defense. That would be the first step. It’s no use putting a decree before the president and having him sign it. I didn’t convene the councils, nor were there any preparatory steps for this,” the onetime president said.
Without answering journalists’ questions, Bolsonaro spoke for 50 minutes outside the Senate in Brasília alongside allies in parliament, shortly after the Supreme Court ruled that the former president must stand trial on the charges.
He once again suggested, without proof, that Brazil’s voting machines are unsafe, said that he is being persecuted, and criticized Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.
The prosecutor-general’s charges maintain that the erstwhile leader met on December 7, 2022, at the Alvorada presidential residence, with the commanders of the Army, the Air Force, and the Navy, when a drafted decree on the coup to suspend the elections was presented. The document is said to have been aimed at consolidating a democratic rupture.
The charges state that the commander of the Navy, Almir Garnier, agreed to the coup and the proposal was rejected by the other military commanders. Also according to the prosecution, Bolsonaro had a speech ready for after the coup, which was found in his room at the headquarters of the Liberal Party (PL).
Commenting on the court decision to bring him to trial, Bolsonaro argued that the military commanders would never embark on a coup d’état “adventure.” He also said that “discussing hypothetical constitutional provisions is not a crime,” in reference to the drafted state-of-siege or -defense decree that has been interpreted by the prosecution as the decisive step towards a coup d’état.
Persecution
The former president also reiterated the claim he has been making since the investigations began, namely that he is a victim of political persecution and that Brazil is no longer a democracy.
On a social network, Bolsonaro said they want to try him quickly to prevent him from “arriving free at the 2026 elections,” even though he is already banned from running for office until 2031.
“The international community is closely following what is happening in Brazil. Jurists, diplomats, and political leaders already see a pattern. It’s the same approach seen in Nicaragua and Venezuela,” he said.
The discourse that Brazil is persecuting opponents has been questioned by experts, who believe it is a defense strategy by Bolsonaro and his supporters to get rid of accusations of a coup d’état.
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