A Brazilian senator said Bolsonaro once attended a meeting to discuss how to flip the results of the presidential election, after losing to rival Lula.
Brazilian Senator Marcos do Val said on February 2 that he and former president Jair Bolsonaro had participated in a closed-door meeting on December 9 organized by Daniel Silveira, then a member of Bolsonaro’s ally.
According to Val, Silveira devised a plan to discredit the October 2022 presidential election. Silveria wanted Val to arrange a meeting with Alexandre de Moraes, a Supreme Court judge and president of Brazil’s electoral authority, and seek to get Moraes’ comments to raise suspicions about the election results and then sneak up on Silveria. sound recording.
Mr. Bolsonaro “sits in silence” while Silveria presents the plan and has no intention of stopping it, as described by Val. The senator also released screenshots of messages with Silveira about the meeting and the plan.
Brazilian police on February 2 arrested Silveria on orders from the Supreme Court, accusing him of disobeying a court ruling and “completely disrespecting and mocking” the judiciary.
Bolsonaro was not immediately available for comment. Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the former president’s son, said there had been no attempted coup and that Mr Bolsonaro was “a defender of law and order, always following the constitution”. Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party (PL) declined to comment.
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro outside a resort in the city of Kissimmee, Florida, USA, January 22. Photo: AFP
The information from Val has been described as the most powerful testimony related to allegations that Mr Bolsonaro tried to overturn the results of the Brazilian presidential election. Moraes asked Val to provide sworn testimony to the Brazilian federal police within five days.
Bolsonaro lost to rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva by a margin of 50.9% and 49.1%, the narrowest gap in modern Brazilian history. Bolsonaro did not concede defeat, nor hinder the transfer of power to Lula, but repeatedly accused the election of rigging.
Protesters supporting Bolsonaro on January 8 marched in Brasilia and stormed the Brazilian parliament building, the Supreme Court and the presidential palace to cause riots and vandalism. Brazil’s Supreme Court has decided to investigate the former president for inciting protesters, leading to the riot.
Mr. Bolsonaro left Brazil for Florida, USA, on December 30, two days before the end of his term. He is said to have entered on a visa for heads of countries, which expired on January 31, and has applied for a 6-month visa with US officials.
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