Nation Divided Over Bolsonaro's Imprisonment
Trump Steps In to Defend Bolsonaro
Brazil is experiencing turmoil over the potential pardon of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who was convicted of plotting a coup. On September 22, Yonhap News, citing AP and other sources, reported that after the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies passed a bill strengthening parliamentary immunity for lawmakers and increasing the possibility of pardoning former President Bolsonaro, protests condemning the move erupted across the country.
As the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies passed a bill strengthening parliamentary immunity for lawmakers and increasing the possibility of pardoning former President Bolsonaro, protests condemning the move erupted across the country. Photo by AP Yonhap News
The ruling Workers' Party of Brazil shared photos and videos on social networking services such as X, stating, "Today, people across Brazil took to the streets and chanted slogans opposing the pardon of coup plotters." According to posts by the Workers' Party, marches criticizing the legislature took place in ten cities, including the capital Brasilia, as well as the most densely populated areas such as Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, and Belem. Notably, prominent singer-songwriter Caetano Veloso and former Minister of Culture Gilberto Gil, both of whom resisted artistic censorship during the military dictatorship of the 1960s to 1980s, reportedly joined the rallies.
Chamber of Deputies with Opposition Majority Passes Constitutional Amendment on Parliamentary Immunity
Previously, the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies, where opposition parties hold a majority, passed a series of bills, including a constitutional amendment that makes it nearly impossible to prosecute or arrest sitting lawmakers, as well as measures allowing for the pardon of former President Bolsonaro, his close associates, and those involved in post-election riots. Former President Bolsonaro, a former military officer, was indicted along with close allies such as former Defense Minister Walter Braga Netto for allegedly plotting to assassinate current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who won the October 2022 election, and for conspiring with the military to stage a coup. In particular, Bolsonaro is also accused of inciting the large-scale post-election riot that occurred in Brasilia on January 8, 2023. Local prosecutors determined that the majority of the more than 1,000 rioters who ransacked the presidential palace, Supreme Court building, and National Congress were Bolsonaro supporters.
Large-scale protests opposing the bill that increases the possibility of a pardon for former President Jair Bolsonaro, who was convicted of plotting a coup in Brazil, took place nationwide. Photo by AP Yonhap News
The Liberal Party, to which former President Bolsonaro belongs, reportedly fast-tracked a bill through parliament to grant pardons to those convicted in connection with the post-election riots by rallying conservative lawmakers, according to local media outlet G1. The Liberal Party claimed on X that "the decision of the Chamber of Deputies is an important victory for the freedom of countless patriots who were unjustly persecuted." According to local opinion polls, Brazil remains divided over the imprisonment of former President Bolsonaro. A Datafolha poll released on September 16 showed that 50% of respondents supported Bolsonaro's imprisonment, while 43% opposed it.
Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump, who has criticized the trial of Bolsonaro-dubbed the "Trump of Brazil"-as a "witch hunt," imposed a 50% "reciprocal tariff" on Brazil on July 30. In response, President Lula stated in media interviews that if an event similar to the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot in the United States had occurred in Brazil, Trump would have been put on trial, highlighting the ongoing "Bolsonaro dispute" between Lula and Trump.
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