Bolsonaro is said to have planned the coup in Brazil. Ukrainian frontline still under pressure + Zelenskyy dismisses Secretary of the Security Council

It became clear: Jair Bolsonaro had already incited his supporters during the 2022 election campaign and spoke about election fraud as a precaution. And when he narrowly lost the battle for the presidency against challenger Lula, he refused to publicly admit defeat.

The result: the heated mood continued in the weeks after the election. And in early January, a week after Bolsonaro’s official term ended, the situation escalated: supporters of the “Brazilian Trump” stormed the government district in the capital Brasilia, even “capturing” the roof of Lula’s official residence, thus creating a South Africa. US version of the Washington Capitol Storm. The new president Lula was not there at the time.

As a result, reports quickly emerged that Bolsonaro wanted to take advantage of the background unrest – and may even have had a hand in the organization. And they persevered. Brazilian police are still investigating the former head of state to this day. Now more details are emerging about what exactly these studies are about.

Investigators are currently trying to prove that Bolsonaro indeed wanted to organize a coup to stay in power, Reuters news agency reports. A key figure in the plans that Bolsonaro himself had always denied: the former defense minister and chief of staff, as well as Bolsonaro’s designated vice president, Walter Braga Netto.

According to investigators, Netto was in charge of planning a military coup. He is said to have organized the travel and stay of a guerrilla unit to Brasilia to initiate the coup there. Bolsonaro supporters should also have been paid so they could travel to the capital, camp there and demand an annulment of the election results. Reuters relies on various anonymous sources to publish this information.

As a general and former defense minister, Netto would have to ensure that army and navy commanders would join the coup to take back power in the country. This theory circulated shortly after the events of January 2023, but could not be proven.

To convince the military, Netto held a meeting at his home two weeks after Bolsonaro’s election defeat to present the officers with a plan for the coup. This consisted of sending specialized troops to Brasilia to provoke violence and chaos in order to declare a state of war and thus overturn the election results. According to the sources, investigators found copies of a corresponding decree that had already been drawn up.

The fact that the alleged coup attempt ultimately failed in the chaos of January was because the majority of army and navy officers refused to join the conspiracy. Bolsonaro initially remained silent after the storming of the government district. He condemned the violent storming of the government district only belatedly – ​​perhaps when it became clear that his conspiracy plans would not be successful.

The ex-president was only convicted because of his baseless allegations of election fraud. In June 2023, he was banned from all political positions for eight years. If investigators can prove that he actually planned a coup, he will likely receive a much more drastic punishment. Bolsonaro’s recent visit to the Hungarian embassy in Brazil fueled rumors that authorities were closing in on him; he is said to have avoided arrest by visiting the embassy.