Brazil’s Supreme Court will vote today either to convict or acquit the far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro in a coup trial that has triggered mass protests by his supporters across the country.
If convicted, the former Brazilian president could face up to 40 years in prison for attempting to regain the presidency via a coup, despite losing to leftist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who is now in office.
The former president, along with seven of his associates, has been on trial for months; those accused alongside Bolsonaro include former ministers and generals. A bench of five judges, presided over by Justice Alexandre de Moraes, is hearing the case.
The Supreme Court judge, who has repeatedly clashed with Bolsonaro over his alleged role in the coup, has been placed under financial sanctions by Washington, which accuses Brasília of persecution in the case.
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Donald Trump, who has expressed support for Bolsonaro, denounced the trial as a “witch hunt” against his far-right ally and imposed a 50 per cent tariff on Brazilian imports.
Moraes responded by saying Brazil “will not be intimidated”, rejecting internal and external threats and coercion, and vowed to stand “absolutely inflexible in defending national sovereignty.”
For many Brazilians, the trial is a test of democracy 40 years after the end of military dictatorship; for others, it is a political show trial.
Prosecutors allege that Bolsonaro, along with others, plotted to declare a state of emergency and call new elections, but failed to secure support from the country’s military leadership. He also allegedly knew of a plan to assassinate Lula, his vice president Geraldo Alckmin, and Justice Moraes.
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