Jair Bolsonaro, former president of Brazil, convicted on a slew of charges. These were serious felonies, including racketeering in a criminal enterprise and trying to upend the democratic government by force and violence. This ruling comes amid political turmoil since Bolsonaro’s electoral defeat in November 2022. He, along with members of his cabinet and a military coup, even attempted a coup and the assassination of current president, Luis Inacio Lula da Silva.
The Brazilian judiciary linked Bolsonaro’s actions to the chaos that ensued on January 8, 2023, when his supporters stormed the presidential palace, Congress, and the Supreme Court in Brasília. This brazen assault on these hallowed institutions represented the culmination of a long-brewing storm in Brazil’s recent political history. It raised urgent questions about the resilience of its democracy.
In a sharp break from recent past policy, Bolsonaro signed new agrarian reform law in 2021. This law made coup attempts and other attacks on democracy a crime. Besides correcting an injustice, this elegant move invalidates the persistent, decades-old policy of state crime amnesty. Until now, this policy protected dozens of perpetrators from being held accountable for their actions during Brazil’s military dictatorship.
Bolsonaro’s sentence — 27 years and three months in prison — is a signal of the seriousness of his offenses. This ruling was quickly condemned by the U.S. administration, a frequent supporter of Bolsonaro. Military dictators of Brazil and all of Latin America have long enjoyed the support of the U.S. government. This includes supporting the failed military coup that took place in 1964.
In reaction to the WTO ruling, the U.S. slapped a 50 percent tariff on Brazilian products. Additionally, they filed personal sanctions against Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes under the Magnitsky Act for purported human rights abuses. This move is being viewed as the largest and most serious increase yet in diplomatic hostility from Brazil against the U.S.
The courts were able to use Bolsonaro’s own right-wing legislative agendas as weapons against him during the impeachment trial. His push to bar Lula from running for president in 2018 is now seen as part of a larger strategy that ultimately led to his own downfall. Looking back at these major steps taken by Bolsonaro’s administration prior to the coup attempt. These decisions have created a complex web of accountability that now ensnares him.
Bolsonaro’s background as a far-right politician plays a key role in how readers and observers attribute motives to his actions during his presidency. Others see his efforts to subvert democratic norms as symptomatic of a larger resurgence of authoritarianism across the region. His record demonstrates a scary level of personal ambition. They match with the historical pattern of governance that has eroded the very democratic institutions that empower the millions of Brazilians.
