Bolsonaro discussed 'state of siege' after election loss
BRASÍLIA — A former army commander told Brazil's supreme court he had attended a meeting with Jair Bolsonaro where a "state of siege" was discussed as a possible means of overturning the far-right ex-president's election defeat.
General Marco Antonio Freire Gomes, who was army commander under Bolsonaro, was one of the first witnesses to testify in an initial phase of the long-anticipated trial of Bolsonaro on coup charges.
After leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's election victory in 2022, but before he was inaugurated as president in January 2023, Gomes said he took part in a meeting with Bolsonaro where the possibility of declaring a "state of siege" was discussed.
"I warned him [Bolsonaro] that he could have serious problems, with judicial implications," the general said of that discussion.
Bolsonaro, 70, is accused of having conspired to hold on to power regardless of the outcome of the 2022 election, which he narrowly lost to Lula.
If found guilty, he risks a sentence of up to 40 years in prison, and political banishment.
More than 80 people -- including high-ranking military officers, former government ministers and police and intelligence officials -- are set to testify in a preliminary trial phase that opened on Monday and is expected to last at least two weeks.
Former air force chief Carlos de Almeida Baptista Junior is set to give evidence on Wednesday.
Monday's hearings were opened by Bolsonaro's arch-foe, Judge Alexandre de Moraes, via video link.
Bolsonaro joined the proceedings in a yellow Brazilian football jersey, a symbol of patriotism for his right-wing supporters.
'Criminal organisation'
Prosecutors say Brazil's leader from 2019-2022 led a "criminal organisation" planning to undo Lula's election victory.
Bolsonaro has been hoping to make a political comeback in elections next year despite being banned from seeking office until 2030 over baseless criticism of Brazil's electronic voting system.
Prosecutors say those attacks had sought to discredit the 2022 election and lay the ground for a military intervention.
Bolsonaro is also accused of being aware of a plot to assassinate Lula, his vice president Geraldo Alckmin, and judge Moraes.
Bolsonaro denies any role in a coup attempt and claims to be the victim of "political persecution".
The former army captain will be tried with seven former aides allegedly involved in the coup plot.
They include four former ministers, a former navy commander and an ex-intelligence services head.
Several former Brazilian presidents have had legal entanglements since the end of the 1964-1985 dictatorship, but Bolsonaro, who has expressed nostalgia for military rule, is the first to face coup charges.
A 900-page report by the federal police lays out the alleged plot in detail.
The attempt failed, say prosecutors, because it lacked crucial support from the top military brass.
Bolsonaro was in the United States on January 8, 2023, when thousands of supporters invaded and ransacked key government buildings, demanding a military intervention to oust Lula a week after his inauguration.
That effort also failed.
'Death penalty'
Following the introductory phase with witness evidence, the trial will continue with testimony from the accused, followed by a summation from prosecutors and final arguments by defense attorneys.
Only then will the five high-court magistrates -- including Moraes -- vote on the fate of the accused and, if found guilty, sentence them.
Bolsonaro, who recently underwent abdominal surgery to treat problems arising from a 2018 knife attack, has said a conviction would amount to a "death penalty, political and physical".
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Jordan Times
21-05-2025
- Jordan Times
Bolsonaro discussed 'state of siege' after election loss
BRASÍLIA — A former army commander told Brazil's supreme court he had attended a meeting with Jair Bolsonaro where a "state of siege" was discussed as a possible means of overturning the far-right ex-president's election defeat. General Marco Antonio Freire Gomes, who was army commander under Bolsonaro, was one of the first witnesses to testify in an initial phase of the long-anticipated trial of Bolsonaro on coup charges. After leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's election victory in 2022, but before he was inaugurated as president in January 2023, Gomes said he took part in a meeting with Bolsonaro where the possibility of declaring a "state of siege" was discussed. "I warned him [Bolsonaro] that he could have serious problems, with judicial implications," the general said of that discussion. Bolsonaro, 70, is accused of having conspired to hold on to power regardless of the outcome of the 2022 election, which he narrowly lost to Lula. If found guilty, he risks a sentence of up to 40 years in prison, and political banishment. More than 80 people -- including high-ranking military officers, former government ministers and police and intelligence officials -- are set to testify in a preliminary trial phase that opened on Monday and is expected to last at least two weeks. Former air force chief Carlos de Almeida Baptista Junior is set to give evidence on Wednesday. Monday's hearings were opened by Bolsonaro's arch-foe, Judge Alexandre de Moraes, via video link. Bolsonaro joined the proceedings in a yellow Brazilian football jersey, a symbol of patriotism for his right-wing supporters. 'Criminal organisation' Prosecutors say Brazil's leader from 2019-2022 led a "criminal organisation" planning to undo Lula's election victory. Bolsonaro has been hoping to make a political comeback in elections next year despite being banned from seeking office until 2030 over baseless criticism of Brazil's electronic voting system. Prosecutors say those attacks had sought to discredit the 2022 election and lay the ground for a military intervention. Bolsonaro is also accused of being aware of a plot to assassinate Lula, his vice president Geraldo Alckmin, and judge Moraes. Bolsonaro denies any role in a coup attempt and claims to be the victim of "political persecution". The former army captain will be tried with seven former aides allegedly involved in the coup plot. They include four former ministers, a former navy commander and an ex-intelligence services head. Several former Brazilian presidents have had legal entanglements since the end of the 1964-1985 dictatorship, but Bolsonaro, who has expressed nostalgia for military rule, is the first to face coup charges. A 900-page report by the federal police lays out the alleged plot in detail. The attempt failed, say prosecutors, because it lacked crucial support from the top military brass. Bolsonaro was in the United States on January 8, 2023, when thousands of supporters invaded and ransacked key government buildings, demanding a military intervention to oust Lula a week after his inauguration. That effort also failed. 'Death penalty' Following the introductory phase with witness evidence, the trial will continue with testimony from the accused, followed by a summation from prosecutors and final arguments by defense attorneys. Only then will the five high-court magistrates -- including Moraes -- vote on the fate of the accused and, if found guilty, sentence them. Bolsonaro, who recently underwent abdominal surgery to treat problems arising from a 2018 knife attack, has said a conviction would amount to a "death penalty, political and physical".
Jordan Times
19-11-2024
- Jordan Times
Taxing the richest — what G20 decided
By AFP - Nov 19,2024 - Last updated at Nov 19,2024 Leaders attending the meeting on Sustainable Development and Energy Transition pose for a group photo after the third session of the G20 Leaders' Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Tuesday (AFP photo) RIO DE JANEIRO — Anti-poverty campaigners have hailed a decision by G20 leaders meeting in Rio to make sure the world's billionaires "are effectively taxed." Getting the super-rich to cough up more in taxes has been a priority of left-wing Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is hosting the summit of the world's biggest economies. How much tax do billionaires pay? Lula, a former metalworker who grew up in poverty, complains that the super-rich pay proportionately much less tax than the working class. A 2021 White House study showed that the wealthiest 400 billionaire families in the US paid an average federal individual tax rate of 8.2 per cent, compared to 13 per cent for the average taxpayer. According to anti-poverty NGO Oxfam, the richest 1 per cent have accumulated $42 trillion in new wealth over the past decade It says the richest one percent have more wealth than the lowest 95 per cent combined. Increasing taxes on the wealthiest is also seen as a way to boost state coffers at a time of ballooning budget deficits and as developing countries seek huge amounts of funding to help them weather global warming. "Tax the rich" has for years been a battle cry of the global left, while a group of US self-described Patriotic Millionaires have themselves called for higher tax bills. In Rio, activists projected giant slides on buildings during the G20 summit marked "Tax the super rich for people and planet." French economist Gabriel Zucman, an expert on inequality who authored a report on the issue for Brazil's G20 presidency, estimated that if the planet's 3,000 billionaires paid at least 2 per cent of their wealth in income tax each year, governments would rake in an extra $250 billion in revenue. What did the G20 decide? Proposals for a minimum global income tax pushed by Brazil, Colombia, France, South Africa, Spain and the African Union have come to naught with the US and Germany among the naysayers. In a move hailed as marking progress, however, G20 finance ministers in July for the first time agreed to "engage cooperatively to ensure that ultra-high-net-worth individuals are effectively taxed." On Monday, G20 leaders corroborated that decision in a statement with the same wording. Zucman called it a "historic decision." Oxfam Brazil said Lula had "lit a path toward a more just and resilient world." But it warned that "real change" would only come about when countries increased taxes enough "to dramatically reduce inequality" and raise trillions of dollars towards fighting poverty and climate change. In 2021, more than 130 countries agreed on a minimum tax for multinational companies, establishing that they should pay at least 15 per cent in taxes on their profits. Is real change likely? With US President-elect Donald Trump returning to the White House in January, flanked by the world's richest man, billionaire Elon Musk, in a top role, chances of further progress appear slim in the medium-term. The Forbes magazine billionaires list shows that 16 of the world's 20 richest people are US citizens. Trump has pledged to slash rather than increase taxes. Argentina's libertarian President Javier Milei, a fan of Trump, on Monday rejected the G20's tax proposals as well as their backing for greater state intervention to fight hunger. He touted "free-market capitalism" as a panacea for poverty.
Jordan Times
16-11-2024
- Jordan Times
Protesters hold pro-Palestinian march in Rio ahead of G20
Members of social movements march in support of the Palestinian people at Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Saturday, ahead of the G20 Summit. The G20 Leaders' Summit will take place in Rio de Janeiro between next Monday and Tuesday (AFP photo) RIO DE JANEIRO — Hundreds of protesters marched in support of Palestinians in Rio on Saturday, in a demonstration aimed at world leaders about to converge on the city for a G20 summit. The march, held peacefully under constant rain along Copacabana Beach, was watched by dozens of police and soldiers deployed as security for the summit to be held Monday and Tuesday. The meeting will see heads of state and government, including US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, discuss coordination on international issues. The Rio protesters, a few wearing Arabic keffiyeh scarves, held aloft the Palestinian flag and banners, including one reading "Break Brazil-Israel Relations" and demands that Israeli allies stop financing its military offensives in Gaza and in Lebanon. "We're here to make a contrast with the G20 summit," said Tania Arantes, 60, from one of the Brazilian unions organizing the protest. She said the march embraced a number of other leftist issues too, such as climate change, the fight against poverty and a demand to tax the super-rich, because the leaders at the summit "have economic control over nations they believe are subordinate in this globalized world." One marcher, Giancarlo Pereira, a 43-year-old veterinarian, said the multiple leftist issues converged with the Palestinian cause "because the big companies fueling the war (being conducted by Israel in Gaza) are the billionaires of the world." A short distance along Copacabana Beach, another protest was being staged with activists placing rows of plates with red crosses on them in the sand. The 733 plates laid out represented the 733 million people in the world the UN says suffered from hunger last year. Another demonstration was to take place in Rio later Saturday organized by a Brazilian Indigenous umbrella group, the Articulation of Indigenous People of Brazil, to underline a perceived lack of effort by rich countries to combat climate change. The various protests were taking place as activists, NGOs and civil society bodies took part in a pre-summit G20 Social event in Rio promoted by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Lula was to receive a list of action points drawn up by that event to help inform summit discussions on Monday and Tuesday. Headline talks to take place at the summit include an initiative by Lula for a Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty, and international efforts to mitigate global warming.
