Bolsonaro’s sentence prompts mixed reactions
He was a good man, Trump said about Bolsonaro
The conviction of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro for an attempted coup has drawn strong reactions from Latin American leaders, highlighting a regional divide over the verdict.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric expressed his respect for Brazilian democracy, stating that it resisted an attempted coup and now judges and convicts those responsible. He added that democracy in the country emerges stronger.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro echoed this sentiment, stating on social media, Every coup plotter must be convicted. These are the rules of democracy.
Earlier Thursday, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said that the judges have to see the truth and that the case was about the former president’s behavior in relation to democracy, not about judging the man. He also noted there was more than enough evidence that Bolsonaro tried to stage a coup.
Case rapporteur Alexandre De Moraes considered an aggravating factor that the prosecution has deemed Bolsonaro the leader of a criminal organization that conspired to try to prevent the current president from succeeding him in power after winning the October 2022 elections.
Bolsonaro’s defense said they would appeal the Supreme Court judges’ decision even at the international level.
Attorneys Celso Vilardi and Paulo da Cunha Bueno said in a statement that they considered the penalties absurdly excessive and disproportionate and that they will analyze the ruling and then file an appeal.
The defense team for former President Jair Bolsonaro respectfully accepts the decision of the First Chamber of the Federal Supreme Court. However, it cannot fail to express its profound disagreement and indignation with the terms of the majority decision, read the document.
The Brazilian Supreme Court has unjustly ruled to imprison former President Jair Bolsonaro, Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted on X, adding that the United States, which has already imposed high tariffs on Latin America’s largest economy in the wake of the trial, will respond accordingly to this witch hunt.
It’s very surprising that this could happen. It really looks like what they tried to do to me, President Donald Trump noted. I knew him as President of Brazil; he was a good man, he added.
