Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro has been handed a 27-year and three-month prison sentence after the country’s Supreme Court found him guilty of plotting a military coup to remain in power following his 2022 election defeat.
A five-judge panel ruled on Thursday that Bolsonaro had led a conspiracy to overturn the electoral result against his left-wing rival, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Four justices voted to convict him, while one dissented.
In addition to his prison term, Bolsonaro has been barred from holding public office until 2060, effectively ending his political career.
A dramatic fall from power
Once celebrated as a populist leader, the 70-year-old former army captain now faces the prospect of spending the rest of his life in prison. He was not present in court during the final phase of the trial, having been placed under house arrest earlier this year due to concerns he might flee.
Prosecutors accused Bolsonaro of undermining trust in Brazil’s electoral system, pushing for a coup to senior military officials, and even being aware of a plot to assassinate Lula and his running mate. The court also convicted seven of his close allies, including two former defence ministers, a former spy chief, and his former security minister.
The attempted coup culminated in the January 8, 2023, storming of Brazil’s government buildings by Bolsonaro supporters, an event that drew comparisons to the U.S. Capitol riot two years earlier. More than 1,500 people were arrested in its aftermath.
Divisions at home and abroad
Bolsonaro has repeatedly called the proceedings a “witch hunt” aimed at blocking his political ambitions. His legal team described the sentence as “absurdly excessive” and vowed to appeal, though experts say the narrow margin of dissent makes overturning the verdict unlikely.
Internationally, the ruling has stirred strong reactions. Former U.S. president Donald Trump voiced support for Bolsonaro, likening the case to his own legal battles. Current U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio criticized the verdict as unjust, warning of consequences for Brazil.
Brazil’s foreign ministry swiftly rejected Rubio’s remarks, declaring that “threats will not intimidate our democracy” and stressing that the evidence against Bolsonaro was overwhelming.
A warning from history
The trial was closely watched in Brazil, a nation still scarred by two decades of military dictatorship that ended in the 1980s. Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversaw the case, warned that the country had come dangerously close to authoritarian rule once again.
Justice Cármen Lúcia, casting the decisive guilty vote, compared Bolsonaro’s conspiracy to a “virus” that, if left unchecked, could have destroyed Brazil’s democratic fabric.
With the sentence now handed down, Bolsonaro’s lawyers are expected to push for him to remain under house arrest rather than serve time in prison. But regardless of the outcome, Thursday’s ruling marks a historic moment: the conviction of a former president for attempting to subvert democracy in Latin America’s largest nation.
Source: BBC
