During the BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva refuted the defense US President Donald Trump made of former President Jair Bolsonaro regarding the attempted coup lawsuit.
The Brazilian president said that defending democracy in Brazil is a matter for Brazilians to make a decision on.
“We are a sovereign country. We won’t accept interference or tutelage from anyone. We have solid and independent institutions. No one is above the law, especially those who attack freedom and the rule of law,” President Lula said in a statement.
BRICS leaders dismissed Donald Trump’s accusation that the bloc is “anti-American,” with Lula saying the world “doesn’t need an emperor” after the US President threatened new tariffs on member nations.
On Monday, President Trump came out in defense of onetime president Bolsonaro on social media, attacking the case over the attempted coup d’état being examined by the Supreme Court.
“Brazil is doing a terrible thing on their treatment of former President Jair Bolsonaro. I have watched, as has the world, as they have done nothing but come after him, day after day, night after night, month after month, year after year! He is not guilty of anything, except having fought for the people,” President Trump wrote.
Bolsonaro is accused of spearheading an attempted coup d’état in Brazil after losing the 2022 elections to President Lula. According to the Federal Police, the plot called for the assassination of Lula and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, as well as the annulment of the election result, which would constitute a breakdown of the democratic order.
Bolsonaro allegedly pressured the commanders of the Armed Forces to support his plan. The former president and his allies deny the allegations.
“I’ll be watching the witch hunt of Jair Bolsonaro, his family, and thousands of his supporters,” he said. “Leave Bolsonaro alone,” the post adds.
Bolsonaro thanked President Trump for his support and described the criminal action against him as political persecution. “Thank you for existing,” he told Trump on social media.
External interference
At the request of the Brazilian prosecutor-general, the Supreme Court in May this year opened an investigation into Eduardo Bolsonaro, son of former President Bolsonaro, congressman on leave, for coercion and attempted obstruction of justice to help his father.
Eduardo Bolsonaro abandoned his mandate as a lawmaker and went to live in the US, where he has been asking the US government for sanctions against Brazilian authorities, which could interfere in the criminal proceedings against his father.
“[Eduardo Bolsonaro’s] statements have an intimidating tone and have intensified in line with the progress of the criminal case in which the former president is accused of leading a criminal organization to undermine the democratic rule of law after the 2022 elections,” said the Federal Prosecution Service.
ABr
