Thousands gather in Rio de Janeiro to demonstrate support for Bolsonaro

SAO PAULO: Thousands of people gathered on Copacabana Beach on Sunday in a show of support for former President Jair Bolsonaro, who faces charges of leading a plot to topple the government and undermine Brazil’s democracy after he lost a 2022 election.

Charges against the former army captain and several key allies will go before a five-judge panel at Brazil’s Supreme Court on March 25. If judges agree to hear the trial, Bolsonaro and others will become defendants.

Bolsonaro and his representatives have denied wrongdoing.

“The President never condoned any movement aimed at dismantling the democratic rule of law or the institutions that support it,” his defense attorneys said in a statement.

Prosecutor General Paulo Gonet filed the charges last month against Bolsonaro, a veteran politician with nearly three decades in Congress, accusing him of organizing a criminal group trying to break with the country’s democracy. The alleged plans included a plot to poison President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who won the 2022 race and succeeded Bolsonaro in office.

Paulo Kramer, a political scientist who worked on Bolsonaro’s 2018 presidential campaign, said the former leader’s strategy now relies more than ever on seeking support directly from voters.

“We believe the battle in the Supreme Court is essentially lost, given the majority Justices are opposed to Bolsonaro,” Kramer told Reuters, adding: “Taking the streets is a way to reassert his leadership.”

The Supreme Court did not respond to a request for comment.

Bolsonaro is also fighting a ruling by Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court (TSE), which has barred him from running for public office until 2030. In spite of the ban, he has repeatedly expressed his desire to seek the presidency again in 2026.

“Whenever a politician faces a legal issue, he orchestrates a public demonstration” said Thiago de Aragão, CEO of Washington-based consultancy Arko International, who said he doubted the tactic would sway the court’s decisions. “No one underestimates Bolsonaro’s strength. The march will not come as a surprise to the justices or anyone else.”