Brazil’s Supreme Court sentences Bolsonaro to 27 years in jail for coup plot

Brasilia: Brazil’s Supreme Court on Thursday sentenced firebrand former president Jair Bolsonaro to 27 years in prison for plotting a coup, following a landmark trial that has divided the nation and provoked anger from the United States.

The sentence could see the 70-year-old far-right figure spend the remainder of his life behind bars.

Judges voted 4–1 to convict Bolsonaro of attempting to overthrow Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva following his defeat by the left-wing leader in the October 2022 election.

Prosecutors argued the plot only failed due to a lack of support from senior military leaders. Bolsonaro’s defence team described the sentence as “incredibly excessive” and confirmed he would appeal, “including at the international level.”

Washington responded swiftly to the conviction of the man dubbed “the Trump of the tropics” upon his 2019 election.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States “will respond accordingly” to what he described as a politically motivated “witch hunt.”

Brazil’s foreign ministry hit back, stating it would not be intimidated by Rubio’s “threats.”

Donald Trump, who imposed steep tariffs on Brazil in response to Bolsonaro’s prosecution, called the verdict “very surprising.”

He praised Bolsonaro as a “good president” and “good man” and claimed his legal troubles were “very much like they tried to do with me.”

While the Supreme Court had already reached the simple majority of three votes needed for conviction by the fourth vote, the ruling only became final after the fifth and final judge delivered his decision.

“An armed criminal organisation was formed by the defendants, who must be convicted based on the factual circumstances I consider proven,” said the fifth judge, Cristiano Zanin, Lula’s former lawyer.

Bolsonaro’s seven co-defendants, including former ministers and military officials, were also found guilty.

The ex-army captain, who served one term between 2019 and 2022, insists he is the victim of political persecution.

Speaking outside his father’s home in Brasília, Bolsonaro’s lawmaker son, Flávio Bolsonaro, said the politician was “holding his head high in the face of this persecution, because history will show that we are on the right side.”

He added that his father’s allies would use “all their might” to rally congressional support for an amnesty bill.

One of the most divisive trails in Brazil

Bolsonaro’s conviction follows one of the most significant and polarising trials in Brazil’s recent history, culminating in a tense four-day vote.

In addition to leading a “criminal organisation,” the former senator was accused of being aware of a plan to assassinate Lula, his vice president Geraldo Alckmin, and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.

He was also convicted of inciting the violent storming of the Supreme Court, presidential palace, and Congress by hundreds of his supporters in Brasília in 2023—an attack which occurred a week after Lula was inaugurated as his successor.

Bolsonaro did not attend the hearings in the capital, instead following the verdict from his residence, where he remains under house arrest.

Across the country, Brazilians watched the proceedings on television and social media with intense interest.

At a bar in Brasília, patrons watching the trial on a large screen erupted into applause following his conviction.

“After so much waiting, this despicable individual is being sent to jail,” said translator Virgílio Soares, 46.

But Germano Cavalcante, a 60-year-old civil engineer, labelled the trial “unfair.”

A nation divided

The case has driven a deep wedge through Brazilian society—between those, largely on the left, who see it as a vital test of the country’s democracy, and those, mostly on the right, who consider it a political show trial.

It has also sparked an unprecedented diplomatic crisis between Brazil and its longstanding ally, the United States.

In addition to imposing tariffs, Washington has sanctioned Moraes and other Supreme Court justices.

Bolsonaro is now the fourth former Brazilian president to be convicted since the country returned to democracy in 1985 following two decades of military rule.

Lula himself spent 19 months in prison between 2018 and 2019 on corruption charges that were later overturned.

The 79-year-old political veteran—whose popularity had declined prior to Bolsonaro’s trial—has been buoyed by the standoff with the United States.

He has positioned himself as the defender of Brazil’s sovereignty in the face of alleged US interference and has signalled his intention to seek re-election next year.

AFP