SAO PAULO: Supporters of Former president of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro gathered on Sunday to protest in Sao Paulo amid allegations that he plotted a coup to stay in power.
Earlier the 68-year-old former military officer has asked his supporters backers to attend a peaceful rally in defense of the democratic rule of law in the economic capital Sao Paulo.
Bolsonaro said the police had confiscated his passport and accused him of editing a draft order to overturn election results, putting pressure on military chiefs to join an attempted coup, and plotting to jail a Supreme Court judge after losing elections against President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in 2022.
Supporters of Bolsonaro, ransacked Brazil’s presidential palace, Congress and Supreme Court calling for a military coup on January 8, 2023, a week after Lula assumed office.
The demonstration showed that Bolsonaro, who is stopped from running for office until 2030 for spreading falsehoods regarding election, still holds political strength in Brazil.
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Congressman Marco Feliciano, a member of Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party, said that former president is not dead and he is still competitive.
A source close to Bolsonaro while comparing him to Lula, who spent 580 days in jail in 2018-2019 on corruption allegations wants to try to show his strength to the Supreme Court and remain politically viable, even if he is arrested.
Some allies believe that the demonstration poses a risk for Bolsonaro.
According to a federal police source, Bolsonaro could further implicate himself and others depending on his statements.
Bolsonaro asked his supporters to attend the protest dressing in the yellow and green of Brazil’s flag.
