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Bolsonaro has been charged by Brazilian prosecutors of trying to
organize a coup following his defeat to Lula in the October 2022
election, with investigators saying he plotted with 33 others to
poison Lula and kill a supreme court judge.
In March, a panel of supreme court judges accepted the charges
and launched a trial against Bolsonaro, where the former
president will face five counts that include attempting to stage
a coup, involvement in an armed criminal organization, and
threatening the state’s assets and heritage sites.
On Sunday, Bolsonaro dismissed the charges, which he claims are
part of a political persecution against him.
Speaking to thousands of supporters who gathered in one of Sao
Paulo’s main avenues wearing yellow Brazil soccer jerseys,
Bolsonaro said he had faith in the Brazilian people and hoped
that Congress would approve an amnesty law drafted by his
allies.
“We have a way out of this,” Bolsonaro said.
Bolsonaro, a conservative who has long expressed his admiration
for President Donald Trump, said that Brazilian courts were
trying to “hunt him” with “lawfare” just like courts in France
recently went after far-right leader Marine Le Pen.
The former president was barred from running for office until
2030 by Brazil’s electoral court, for making unfounded claims
about the nation’s electoral system, that suggested voting
machines had been rigged.
Bolsonaro has said he will challenge that ruling and is planning
to run for office in the 2026 presidential election.
“To hold elections in 2026 without Jair Bolsonaro, is to negate
democracy” Bolsonaro said during Sunday’s rally.
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