Lula says he is convinced that Jair Bolsonaro “prepared the coup” of January 8

by time news

It is a strong and unfiltered accusation made by the President of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, known as Lula, towards his rival Jair Bolsonaro.

“Today, I am aware and I say it loud and clear: this citizen [l’ancien président Bolsonaro] prepared the coup d’etat” of January 8, 2023, Lula said Thursday, February 2, in an interview with local television channel RedeTV!.

On January 8, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters, unhappy with Lula’s victory over his far-right rival in the October 2022 presidential election, invaded and vandalized the presidential palace, Congress and the Supreme Court.

Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers In Brazil, the limits of the purge of Lula in the army, after the riots of January 8

“I am sure that Bolsonaro actively participated in this and is still trying to participate in it”added Lula, when asked about the role of the former president in these events. “They wanted to make this mess on the 1is January, but they realized they couldn’t do it because there were too many police and too many people on the streets.”added the current president, who narrowly won in the second round with 50.9%, against 49.1% for Jair Bolsonaro.

“We still have to defeat Bolsonarism”

A Brazilian judge has decided to include the ex-leader, who left Brazil for Florida at the end of December, in the investigation which aims to determine who is behind the ransacking of Brazilian institutions.

Read also: Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro vows to remain active in politics

These declarations of President Lula intervene the same day as those of the senator Marcos do Val, who assured to have taken part in a meeting with the ex-president where it was a question of preventing the coming to power of Lula.

“We defeated Bolsonaro, but we still have to defeat Bolsonarism”proclaimed President Lula in the interview with the local television channel.

According to Jair Bolsonaro’s lawyers, the latter has applied for an extension of his six-month visa to stay in the United States. He denies having any connection whatsoever with the events of January 8.

The World with AFP

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