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UPI
5 days ago
- Politics
- UPI
Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro given ankle monitor for alleged coup attempt
1 of 3 | Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro speaks at a press conference at the National Congress in Brasilia, Brazil, in March. Brazil's Supreme Court indicted Bolsonaro for five crimes, with a total sentence of about 40 years in prison, as part of an alleged coup attempt to overturn Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's victory in the 2022 elections. File Photo by Andre Borges/EPA July 18 (UPI) -- Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was ordered by his country's supreme court to wear an ankle monitor, stay home most hours and to stay away from foreign embassies. He is considered a flight risk after he and his son lobbied President Donald Trump to help him with his legal troubles. Bolsonaro faces prison time for charges that he attempted a coup after he lost the 2022 election. Brazilian police now accuse Bolsonaro of working with his son, Brazilian lawmaker Eduardo, to lobby the Trump administration in Washington, D.C., and ask the president to impose sanctions on Brazil. The court told Bolsonaro to cease all communication with Eduardo and stay off social media. Trump has threatened a 50% tariff on Brazilian exports starting Aug. 1, if they don't end what he calls a "which hunt" against Bolsonaro. Brazil president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said Brazil will not cede to an American president, whom he says wants to be an "emperor." Thursday night, Trump posted online that police should drop the charges against Bolsonaro. This morning, police raided Bolsonaro's home and office. In a statement, Bolsonaro's legal team said it was "surprised and outraged" by the new precautionary measures "despite the fact that he has always complied with all the orders of the judiciary." Bolsonaro's lawyers expressed "surprise and indignation" at what they called "severe precautionary measures imposed against him." The court didn't agree. "An attempt to subject the functioning of the federal Supreme Court to the scrutiny of another state constitutes an attack on national sovereignty," Justice Alexandre de Moraes said in his order. Speaking to reporters on Friday, Bolsonaro called the ankle monitor the "ultimate humiliation." He said he "never thought of fleeing" Brazil. He repeated that the case against him is a politically motivated effort to remove him from the 2026 election. The New York Times reports that some polls suggest he could narrowly win if eligible. Last week on Truth Social, Trump said that Brazilian authorities have "done nothing but come after [Bolsonaro], day after day, night after night, month after month, year after year!" "He is not guilty of anything, except having fought for THE PEOPLE," he wrote. Brazilian Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet released a 517-page document on Monday that called for Bolsonaro to be convicted for his alleged crimes. Bolsonaro could spend decades in prison. "The evidence is clear: the defendant acted systematically, throughout his mandate and after his defeat at the polls, to incite insurrection and the destabilisation of the democratic rule of law," Gonet said in the document. While Trump has maintained a close friendship with Bolsonaro, Brazil and the Lula administration don't speak highly of Trump. On Thursday Lula said Trump's tariff threat lacked logic. "We cannot have President Trump forgetting that he was elected to govern the U.S., not to be the emperor of the world," he said.
Straits Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Brazil's top court backs most of Lula's tax hike decree after stalemate with Congress
Find out what's new on ST website and app. FILE PHOTO: A general view of the plenary chamber of deputies during a session at the National Congress in Brasilia, Brazil December 18, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo BRASILIA - Brazil's highest court on Wednesday upheld most of a controversial presidential decree raising the country's financial operations tax (IOF), handing a revenue-boosting win to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government. Judge Alexandre de Moraes ruled that only the proposed tax hike on forfait, advance payments made to suppliers that were previously treated by the government as credit operations, would be cut back. The decree, first issued in late May, increased IOF rates on certain corporate credit, foreign exchange and private pension transactions in an effort to generate additional revenue and reduce the size of a budget freeze required to meet this year's fiscal rules. The measure, however, sparked immediate backlash from lawmakers and the financial sector. Just hours after the decree was published, the government partially rolled back some of the changes, and amid continued pressure, it further scaled back the IOF hikes. Even so, Congress passed last month a legislative decree to overturn the presidential measure. In response, the government took the case to the Supreme Court, arguing the decree was legal and warning of a potential revenue shortfall of around 12 billion reais ($2.16 billion) this year, with more than double that impact expected in 2026. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Over 600 Telegram groups in Singapore selling, advertising vapes removed by HSA Singapore 2 weeks' jail for man caught smuggling over 1,800 vapes and pods into Singapore Business Market versus mission: What will Income Insurance choose? Opinion AI and education: We need to know where this sudden marriage is heading Singapore Coffee Meets Bagel's Singpass check: Why I'll swipe right on that Singapore Jail for man who fatally hit his daughter, 2, while driving van without licence Sport 'Like being in a washing machine with 40 deg C water': Open water swimmers brave challenging conditions Singapore Primary 1 registration: 38 primary schools to conduct ballot in Phase 2A Brazil's finance ministry issued a statement on Wednesday evening that welcomed the court's decision, saying it would help restore harmony between branches of government. It also said blocking the proposed IOF tax hike on forfait payments represents lost revenue of 450 million reais, or $80.9 million, this year and a further 3.5 billion reais in 2026. Finance Minister Fernando Haddad told journalists in Brasilia that the government will start working next week on ways to offset the revenue loss, but noted Brazil is heading to a "good primary result" this year, without giving further details. He added that there is still room in the 2026 budget plan, which is in the works. REUTERS
The Star
6 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Brazil's top court backs Lula's tax hike, exempts forfait
FILE PHOTO: A general view of the plenary chamber of deputies during a session at the National Congress in Brasilia, Brazil December 18, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo BRASILIA (Reuters) -Brazil's highest court on Wednesday upheld most of a controversial presidential decree raising the country's Financial Operations Tax (IOF), handing a revenue-boosting win to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government. Judge Alexandre de Moraes ruled that only the proposed tax hike on forfait - advance payments made to suppliers that were previously treated by the government as credit operations - would be cut back. The decree, which includes tax hikes on other financial transactions such as credit, foreign exchange, and private pension transactions, had been suspended by Congress, causing the dispute to go up to the Supreme Court. Brazil's finance ministry issued a statement that welcomed the court's decision, saying it would help restore harmony between branches of government. Blocking the proposed IOF tax hike on forfait payments represents a lost revenue of 450 million reais ($80.9 million) this year and a further 3.5 billion reais in 2026, it added. The ministry had previously estimated that the entire decree would boost state coffers by 12 billion reais this year and 31 billion reais in 2026. ($1 = 5.5678 reais) (Reporting by Ricardo Brito and Marcela Ayres in Brasilia; Writing by Andre Romani; Editing by Chris Reese and Sarah Morland)
Straits Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Brazil's top court backs Lula's tax hike, exempts forfait
Find out what's new on ST website and app. FILE PHOTO: A general view of the plenary chamber of deputies during a session at the National Congress in Brasilia, Brazil December 18, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo BRASILIA - Brazil's highest court on Wednesday upheld most of a controversial presidential decree raising the country's Financial Operations Tax (IOF), handing a revenue-boosting win to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government. Judge Alexandre de Moraes ruled that only the proposed tax hike on forfait - advance payments made to suppliers that were previously treated by the government as credit operations - would be cut back. The decree, which includes tax hikes on other financial transactions such as credit, foreign exchange, and private pension transactions, had been suspended by Congress, causing the dispute to go up to the Supreme Court. Brazil's finance ministry issued a statement that welcomed the court's decision, saying it would help restore harmony between branches of government. Blocking the proposed IOF tax hike on forfait payments represents a lost revenue of 450 million reais ($80.9 million) this year and a further 3.5 billion reais in 2026, it added. The ministry had previously estimated that the entire decree would boost state coffers by 12 billion reais this year and 31 billion reais in 2026. REUTERS
Morocco World
6 days ago
- Politics
- Morocco World
Brazil Prosecutor: Bolsonaro Is Guilty Of Attempting Coup D'Etat
Rabat – Brazilian Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet yesterday called for the country's Supreme Court to find Jair Bolsonaro guilty of inciting public disorder and attempting to destabilize Brazil's fragile democratic order. This call comes amid the trial of the former Brazilian president for crimes linked to the attempted national insurrection in Brasilia in January 2023. The Prosecutor-General filed a 517-page document on Monday stating that Bolsonaro had conspired to lead an 'armed criminal association to violently overthrow the democratic order.' The case against Bolsonaro will now be sent to the nation's Supreme Court to deliberate during the summer and announce a decision in September. If found guilty, Bolsonaro could potentially be handed a forty-year prison sentence. Bolsonaro, a far-right wing populist had been president from 2019 to 2022 and during that time was criticized for human rights abuses and policies in the Amazon Rainforest. After the election of the leftist trade union leader and former president Lula Da Silva, Bolsonaro refused to concede the result of the election and continuously pushed out theories of electoral fraud. This resulted in his supporters storming the National Congress and Presidential Palace in Brasilia on January 8, 2023, while he was in Florida. This came just days after Lula's inauguration as president. The police in the months after indicted Bolsonaro for actions taken to lead this event, and close allies of the former President. It was seen as a coup d'etat as Bolsonaro had on numerous occasions celebrated the authoritarian period from 1964 to 1985. In a speech just days before the Presidential election in 2022 Bolsonaro had stated that there were three options, 'prison, death or victory, but I will tell those bastards in Brasilia that I have no intention of going to prison.' Bolsonaro has called the trial a witch-hunt and claimed that it is politically motivated, stating: 'All the accusations against me are false. I never violated democracy or the constitution.' America Gets Involved Bolsonaro is a close ally of American President Donald Trump, who in 2019 told the world's press that he was doing a 'fantastic job, great job' as president. Trump has expressed sympathy for Bolsonaro and stated that Brazil should stop this political persecution of the former President. Last week in response to this trial, Trump put 50% tariffs on Brazil in a move that is widely seen as political. Trump said that the tariffs can be removed if Brazil drops the case against Bolsonaro. However, Lula Da Silva's government quickly struck back at this move and put reciprocal tariffs on the US. Protestors also filled the streets of the Brazilian capital to protest against the US move and state that they were not afraid of the Trump administration. It is very likely that Bolsonaro, who is already banned from running for president in 2026, will be found guilty of these crimes and sentenced to a term in prison.
