The expected happened, and with a speed that just weeks ago would have been impossible in the Brazil ruled by the ultra-right. The Attorney General’s Office (PGR, Attorney General’s Office) requested this Friday the Supreme Court (STF) to investigate former President Jair Bolsonaro for his possible involvement as mastermind of the assault on the headquarters of the three State powers last Sunday.
The PGR requested that the former Army captain, in the United States since December 30, be included in the tasks of elucidating the facts that shake that country and the world, and for which there are hundreds of people under arrest. Bolsonaro actually invited those responsible for the investigation to be in the crosshairs by sharing, a few hours after 8E, a video that suggests that the victory at the polls of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva In the elections on October 30, it had the favors of the Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE) and the STF. Bolsonaro later deleted those images, but his message had already penetrated the extreme right.
As a result of this event, the door was opened for the Deputy Attorney General of the Republic, Carlos Frederico Santos, coordinator of the recently created Strategic Group to Combat Anti-Democratic Acts, to enter the scene. Santos made his request to the STF on behalf of 79 prosecutors. It has also been requested Meta, owner of Facebookthat you keep the publication of the former president, even after it has been deleted.
So far, the PGR has opened seven investigations into the attempted coup that target not only those who were in Brasilia as material authors, but also possible financiers, instigators, and even public authorities involved.
Other complications
After his electoral defeat, Bolsonaro took refuge in the Palacio de la Alvorada, the presidential residence in the capital district, and silence was called. While he was silent the most extreme Bolsonarism blocked roads and met at the gates of the barracks to demand a military intervention that prevented the beginning of Lula’s presidency under the argument that he had won a contest flawed in legitimacy.
Before the PGR made its request to the STF, the press media analyzed the possibility that the former president would in turn be investigated for another episode that scandalized Brazil: the discovery of the draft of a decree at the house of Bolsonaro’s former Justice Minister, Anderson Torres, with the proposal of emergency measures to “correct” the verdict of the elections that had been adverse to the Government. Torres has been dismissed as Secretary of Security of Brasilia for his alleged collusion with the conspirators. He is in the United States. Justice Minister Flávio Dino warned that his predecessor has until Monday to return to the country and appear before the Federal Police. Otherwise, his extradition will be requested.
The three-page document is undated. What scares is its content. It was ordered to place the TSE under the control of the Executive “with the objective of guaranteeing the preservation and immediate transparency reset and correction of the 2022 presidential electoral process”.
According to Cristina Serra, columnist for the São Paulo newspaper Sheet of Saint Paul, that draft decree “It is more than conclusive proof of a coup plot” because “someone thought about it, looked for a (non-existent) legal basis, wrote and delivered it into the hands of Torres.”
After 8E, Lula managed to shield the Government. He has obtained the support of the media, large companies and even regional governors who days before were Bolsonaristas. He also received massive international support and solidarity. “Brazil will not have another opportunity like this to confront the coup contamination sectors of the Armed Forces and the State security apparatus, including the military police,” Serra estimated. “Bolsonaro must return to Brazil to be duly processed. Is it dangerous for me to come back? Will his return inflame the insane rabble? A greater risk is the perception of impunity, which erodes trust in institutions.”
rout on the right
In this context, part of the traditional right began to distance itself from Bolsonaro. Former judge and current senator, Sergio Moro, He played a crucial role in the former captain’s electoral triumph in 2018, when he condemned Lula. Bolsonaro awarded him the Ministry of Security. The relationship between the two deteriorated and Moro left the Government. Then the trial against Lula was annulled. From a republican champion, the former magistrate became a conspirator. The hatred of the leader of the Workers’ Party (PT) once again brought him closer to Bolsonaro in the electoral campaign. Moro won his seat but, before the events in Brasilia, he once again took a distance that he accentuated with the revelation of the draft decree. “It is clear that it is unconstitutional. The result of the elections must be respected. The opposition must be made through democratic means, in the form of law and without violence,” he said.
Credit card expenses
The role played by the far-right government during the pandemic, which caused almost 700,000 deaths, and the constant promotion of fake news of a defamatory nature, are other possible legal cases that await Bolsonaro. At this time, another potential investigation against him for the unbridled use of the credit card that he had due to his status as a statesman was known. While he was in charge of the Executive spent $5.6 million at bakeries, restaurants, and ice cream parlors.