Former far-right Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Wednesday decried the criminal charges filed against him which said he was involved in a coup plot to overturn the 2022 Brazilian presidential election.
Bolsonaro lost the 2022 election to leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
The charges, filed by Brazilian Attorney General Paulo Gonet Branco on Tuesday, said the former president spearheaded a criminal organization that sought to hack the country's electronic voting system. The charges alleged that Bolsonaro was involved in a plot to kill Lula, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.
Bolsonaro says he is being politically persecuted
"The trick of accusing democratic opposition leaders of plotting coups is nothing new," Bolsonaro posted on social media platform X.
He likened his predicament to countries such as Venezuela, Nicaragua, Bolivia and Cuba, where governments "accused opposition members of being coup plotters." All four of those countries are under leftist governments.
"The playbook is well-known: They fabricate vague accusations, claim to be concerned about democracy or sovereignty and persecute opponents, silence dissenting voices and concentrate power," Bolsonaro said.
"The world is watching and we will continue to do our part so that everyone knows what is happening in Brazil today," he said. "Freedom will triumph once again!"
Lula, meanwhile, said Bolsonaro and the 33 others facing charges are presumed innocent and have the right to defend themselves.
"If the judges come to the conclusion that they are guilty, they have to pay for the mistake they made," Lula said of those charged. He told the media that if they are not convicted "they will be free."
A final attempt to reinstall Bolsonaro
Prosecutors in the case said the final attempt to keep Lula from power was on January 8, 2023, when pro-Bolsonaro demonstrators stormed the Supreme Court, the Planalto Presidential Palace and the National Congress Palace in the capital, Brasilia.
The storming of the government institutions came after Lula was already inaugurated. Lula was in the state of Sao Paulo during the assault, whereas Bolsonaro was in the US state of Florida.
The January 8, 2023 attack ultimately failed in removing Lula from power. Bolsonaro is hoping to return to the presidency in the 2026 election.
Lula has said he will likely not run again next year. Bolsonaro has been banned from running until 2030 after being accused of casting doubts about Brazil's voting system in the last election.
Will Bolsonaro play his Trump card?
Bolsonaro is a strong supporter of US President Donald Trump.
Bolsonaro may try to ask the Trump administration to pressure Brazil into allowing him to run again in 2026. Trump might be sympathetic to Bolsonaro, as the current US president earlier decried criminal charges against him as political persecution.
The former Brazilian president is also working with allies in Congress to change Brazilian law and help him run again for office next year.
