Thousands of Brazilians took to the streets of Sao Paulo on Sunday in support of former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro who denounced his ineligibility during this show of force.
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“ We cannot accept that any power can exclude someone from the political scene, unless it is for a valid reason. We cannot envisage elections by disqualifying opponents », Launched the former president in front of the crowd of his supporters.
The former president, wearing a yellow jersey of the Brazilian football team, a symbol appropriated by the Bolsonaristas, was declared ineligible last year until 2030 for disinformation. Targeted by an investigation into an alleged “coup attempt” to stave off his electoral defeat in 2022 against current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, he once again denied any involvement.
“ What is a coup? Tanks in the streets, weapons, plots. None of this happened in Brazil “, he launched, further asking “ an amnesty for the poor buggers who are imprisoned in Brasilia ” after having ransacked the places of power on January 8, 2023, a week after Lula’s inauguration. In his speech he further said again: persecuted “. “ I seek pacification, to erase the past and find a way to live in peace “, he assured.
Read alsoFormer Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro sentenced to eight years of ineligibility
Also dressed in green and yellow, his supporters gathered en masse on Paulista Avenue, the emblematic artery of the largest metropolis in Latin America. The organizers expected around 500,000 people.
Scandals
On February 8, Jair Bolsonaro was banned from leaving Brazilian territory following a large-scale police operation which targeted several former close collaborators, including ex-ministers and high-ranking soldiers, with dozens searches and arrests. The former president remained silent on Thursday in the face of Federal Police investigators who had summoned him in connection with this affair.
The former army captain is also the target of other investigations, in particular for suspicion of falsification of vaccination certificates against Covid-19 or the alleged misappropriation of gifts received from foreign countries, including jewelry offered by the Saudi Arabia. Despite these scandals, he is still considered the leader of the opposition and remains adored by his supporters.
Influence
The former president intends to use his influence despite his ineligibility to elect allies during the municipal elections in October, in a country that is still very polarized. “ There are municipal elections approaching, but one of the candidates is quite close to him – although taking a little distance – the governor was his minister and the PT has appointed people who can threaten him, so there has a real political stake for the election of the mayor of Sao Paulo, points out Hervé Théry, geographer and emeritus research director at the CNRS. That people on his side continue to show their strength, that strengthens him and makes him acceptable. »
“ In the trials brought against him, there are a certain number of things which are of a political nature – of having threatened to carry out a coup d’état -, but there are also frankly common law crimes, so he really needs to appear respectable, recalls the researcher. He’s probably trying to remain a bit of a mentor to this extreme right. He has other people around him who are still eligible, who could represent him, that has already been seen. »
(and with AFP)