Brazil's ex-president Bolsonaro rejects coup accusation

Brazil's ex-president Jair Bolsonaro has denied accusations that he was involved in planning a coup d'état after his election defeat in 2022.

"I never discussed a coup with anyone," Bolsonaro told journalists in the capital Brasília. "Suppose I were to do such a crazy thing. What would Brazil look like the next day? The world would put up barriers against us, it would be hell. Nobody wants that."

According to investigations by the Brazilian federal police, Bolsonaro, who was president from 2019 to 2022, is said to have planned a coup in a criminal organization together with allies in order to stay in power after his election defeat in October 2022 against current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

The Attorney General's Office must now decide whether to follow the recommendation of the federal police and bring charges against Bolsonaro and 36 other suspects.

Top military officers are also said to have been involved in the plot

In addition to the right-wing ex-president, the former general and head of the institutional security cabinet under Bolsonaro, Augusto Heleno, the former defense minister Braga Netto and the former president of the Brazilian secret service, Alexandre Ramagem, are also alleged to have been involved in the plot.

They are accused of attempting to violently abolish the democratic rule of law, planning a coup d'état and forming a criminal organization.

On 8 January 2023, supporters of ex-military leader Bolsonaro, who refused to recognize Lula's election victory, stormed Congress, the seat of government and the Supreme Court in Brasília, causing considerable damage.

SDA