Bolsonaro

Brazil’s top court rejects Bolsonaro’s coup sentence appeal, affirming his 27-year penalty for post-election power grab.

A five-member panel of Brazil’s Supreme Court has formed a majority to reject former President Jair Bolsonaro’s appeal challenging his 27-year prison sentence for plotting a coup to remain in power after the 2022 presidential election.

The 70-year-old far-right firebrand was found guilty by the same court in September of attempting to prevent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking power. Prosecutors said the plan failed only because of a lack of support from the military’s top brass.

Justices Flavio Dino, Alexandre de Moraes and Cristiano Zanin voted to reject the appeal filed by Bolsonaro’s legal team. The remaining members of the panel have until November 14 to cast their votes in the Supreme Court’s system.

The former president will begin serving his sentence only after all appeals are exhausted.

Bolsonaro has been under house arrest since August for violating precautionary measures in a separate case. His lawyers are expected to request that he be allowed to serve his sentence under similar conditions due to health concerns.

Bolsonaro’s lawyers argued there had been “profound injustices” and “contradictions” in his conviction, and sought to have his prison sentence reduced.

Three of the Supreme Court judges weighing the appeal voted to reject it on Friday.

However, the result is not considered official until the court-imposed deadline at midnight on November 14.

Alexandre de Moraes, who presided over the trial, was the first to cast his vote electronically and wrote that arguments by Bolsonaro’s lawyers to have his sentence reduced were “without merit”.

Moraes, in a 141-page document seen by AFP, rejected defence claims they had been given an overwhelming amount of documents and digital files, preventing them from properly mounting their case.

He also rejected an argument that Bolsonaro had given up on the coup, saying it failed only because of external factors, not because the former president renounced it.

Moraes reaffirmed that there had been a deliberate coup attempt orchestrated under Bolsonaro’s leadership, with ample proof of his involvement.

He again underscored Bolsonaro’s role in instigating the January 8 assault on Brazil’s democratic institutions, when supporters demanded a military takeover to oust Lula.

‘Ruling justified’

Moraes ruled that the sentence of 27 years and 3 months was based on Bolsonaro’s high culpability as president and the severity and impact of the crimes. Moraes said Bolsonaro’s age had already been considered as a mitigating factor.

“The ruling justified all stages of the sentencing process,” Moraes wrote.

Two other judges voted in the same way shortly afterwards.

Because of health problems stemming from a stabbing attack in 2018, Bolsonaro could ask to serve his sentence under house arrest.

The trial against Bolsonaro angered his ally, US President Donald Trump, who imposed sanctions on Brazilian officials and punitive trade tariffs.

However, in recent months, tensions have thawed between Washington and Brasilia, with a meeting taking place between Trump and Lula and negotiations to reduce the tariffs.

An initiative from Bolsonaro supporters in Congress to push through an amnesty bill that could benefit him fizzled out after massive protests around the country.

Brazil’s large conservative electorate is currently without a champion heading into 2026 presidential elections, in which Lula, 80, has said he will seek a fourth term.

The sentence handed to the far-right politician last month has become a major issue in Brazil-US relations.

Lawyers for Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro have filed an appeal against his 27-year prison sentence handed down last month for a botched military coup after his 2022 election loss.

The 85-page motion filed with the Supreme Court on Monday sought a review of parts of Bolsonaro’s conviction, including his sentence.

United States President Donald Trump has branded the prosecution of his far-right ally a “witch-hunt” and made it a major issue in his country’s relations with Brazil.

Bolsonaro was convicted in September over his bid to prevent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking power following the 2022 vote.

The effort saw crowds storm government buildings a week after Lula’s inauguration, drawing comparisons with the January 6 riot at the US Capitol after Trump lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden.

The motion filed by Bolsonaro’s lawyers asserted there were “deep injustices” in his conviction and sentence. It did not stipulate how much of a reduction in the sentence was being sought.

Failed coup

Last month, four of five judges on a Supreme Court panel found Bolsonaro guilty of five crimes, including taking part in an armed criminal organisation, trying to violently abolish democracy and organising a coup.

Prosecutors said the plot entailed the assassination of Lula, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes and failed only due to a lack of support from military leaders.

Trump cited his displeasure with the prosecution in July as he announced punitive tariffs against Brazil and imposed sanctions against Brazilian officials.

Bolsonaro, who has been under house arrest since August, has denied wrongdoing. Under Brazilian law, he will not be sent to prison until all legal avenues are exhausted.

Judicial revisions possible

Thiago Bottino, a law professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, told the AFP news agency that while it is unusual for the Supreme Court to reverse its rulings, it had made revisions in the past, including to the length of sentences.

Defendants sentenced by the Supreme Court usually need two judges to diverge on a ruling to request an appeal that could significantly change the decision, Reuters reported.

After only one justice dissented, Bolsonaro’s lawyers filed a lesser motion seeking clarification or review of specific parts of the conviction.

If his appeal fails, Bolsonaro, 70, could request to serve his sentence under house arrest, claiming poor health.

He was recently diagnosed with skin cancer and was briefly admitted to hospital last month with other health issues.

Brazil’s prosecutor general has charged federal lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro with coercion in a case linked to the one in which his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, was convicted for plotting a coup.

The younger Bolsonaro has “repeatedly sought to subordinate the interests of Brazil and the entire society to his own personal and family agenda”, the prosecutor general’s office said in a statement on Monday.

Eduardo Bolsonaro moved to the United States this year to seek support from President Donald Trump to stop criminal proceedings against his father and has claimed credit for pushing the White House to announce 50 percent tariffs on most Brazilian goods.

The lawmaker linked Monday’s charge to new sanctions imposed by the US on the wife of Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who presided over Jair Bolsonaro’s trial. His son called the staff of the prosecutor general’s office “Moraes’s lackeys”.

Eduardo Bolsonaro added that he received news of the “bogus accusation” from the media and would wait for the legal case to be communicated through official channels before making a formal statement.

Protesters are angry over bills that could grant Bolsonaro amnesty after a coup attempt and give lawmakers immunity.

Thousands of Brazilians have taken to the streets to protest against moves by the National Congress to boost lawmakers’ immunity and push for an amnesty that could include far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro, sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison on charges related to an attempted military coup.

Protesters in rallies in more than a dozen cities accused the conservative-majority Congress of putting its own interests above social and economic issues. Music legends Caetano Veloso, Chico Buarque and Gilberto Gil – who defied censorship during the military dictatorship of the 1960s – reunited in Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana neighbourhood to perform a protest concert.

Aline Borges, a 34-year-old environmentalist who attended the protest in the capital, Brasilia, expressed her frustration at the political establishment. “We are here to protest this Congress, which is made up of criminals and corrupt people dressed as politicians, who are pushing for a law that protects them,” she told the AFP.

Calls for demonstrations grew after the lower house of parliament passed a constitutional amendment that would make it harder to arrest or launch criminal proceedings against lawmakers. Under the so-called “Shielding Bill”, lawmakers voting in a secret ballot must give the go-ahead for one of their own to be charged or arrested.

The following day, the lower house voted to fast-track a bill backed by right-wing opposition lawmakers – dubbed by critics as the “Bandit’s Bill” –  that could grant amnesty to Bolsonaro, his closest allies and hundreds of supporters convicted for their roles in the January 2023 uprising.

Both bills face an uphill battle in the Senate. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said he would veto the amnesty bill.

Ahead of Bolsonaro’s Supreme Court trial on September 11, thousands of his supporters had rallied in his defence. The former president, who has denied any wrongdoing, is the first to be convicted of trying to overturn an election in Latin America’s largest economy.

Polls show the country remains deeply divided over his fate. According to a recent Datafolha poll, 50 percent of 2,005 respondents said Bolsonaro should be jailed, while 43 percent disagreed and 7 percent declined to answer.

Currently under house arrest, Bolsonaro faces up to 40 years in prison after being found guilty on five charges, including leading a “criminal organisation” to conspire to overthrow Lula. A detailed operational plan called “Green and Yellow Dagger” was identified, which included a plan to assassinate Lula.

Bolsonaro has maintained he will run for president in 2026, despite Brazil’s top electoral court barring him from running in elections until 2030 for spreading unfounded claims about Brazil’s electronic voting system.

Convicted ex-leader rushed to a hospital in Brasilia after falling ill at his residence, his son says.

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who was sentenced to prison last week for plotting a coup, has been rushed to hospital after falling ill while under house arrest, his son said.

The emergency visit on Tuesday is the 70-year-old former army captain’s second hospital visit since his conviction.

Bolsonaro has had recurring intestinal issues since he was stabbed while campaigning in 2018, including at least six related surgeries, including a 12-hour-long procedure in April. He won the election that year, and governed from 2019 to 2023.

“Bolsonaro felt unwell a short while ago, with a severe bout of hiccups, vomiting, and low blood pressure,” his son, Flavio, wrote on X.

“He was taken to DF Star [Hospital] accompanied by correctional police officers who guard his home in Brasília, as it was an emergency,” he wrote.

Bolsonaro visited the same hospital on Sunday, and had eight skin lesions removed and sent for biopsies.

A panel of Supreme Court justices on Thursday found the former leader guilty of plotting a coup after he lost the 2022 election to current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

They sentenced him to 27 years and three months in prison.

The sentence, however, does not immediately send him to jail. The court panel has up to 60 days to publish the ruling after the decision, and once it does, Bolsonaro’s lawyers have five days to file motions for clarification.

Bolsonaro has denied wrongdoing and said he is the victim of political persecution. United States President Donald Trump has also called the trial a “witch-hunt”, and imposed tariffs of 50 percent on Brazilian goods, citing the case against Bolsonaro, among other issues.

The former Brazilian leader has been under house arrest since August for allegedly courting pressure on the courts from Trump. He had already been wearing an ankle monitor.

Separately on Tuesday, a federal court ordered Bolsonaro to pay 1 million reais ($188,865) in damages for collective moral harm stemming from racist comments he made while in office.

The inquiry originated from Bolsonaro’s statements to a Black supporter who approached him in May 2021 and asked to take a picture.

The former president joked, saying he was seeing a cockroach in the man’s hair. He also compared the man’s hairstyle with a “cockroach breeding ground”, implying the hair was unclean.

There was no immediate comment from his legal team after the latest court order.

His defence had previously told media outlets that the former leader’s remarks were intended as jokes rather than racist statements, denying any intent to cause offence.

Public opinion in Brazil, meanwhile, is split on Bolsonaro’s prison sentence on coup charges, and the far-right politician’s allies have laid out several plans to overturn or reduce the jail term.

In the Congress, they have rallied behind an amnesty bill, building on the campaign to free hundreds of his supporters who stormed and vandalised government buildings in January 2023.

Sao Paulo Governor Tarcisio de Freitas, a leading Bolsonaro ally, has also promised repeatedly to pardon the former leader if he were to become president in next year’s election. A court has barred Bolsonaro from running for office until 2030, though the former president insisted earlier this year that he would compete in the 2026 presidential election.

For his part, Lula, the incumbent president, has hailed the sentencing of Bolsonaro as a “historic decision” that followed months of investigations that uncovered plans to assassinate him, the vice president and a Supreme Court justice.

Bolsonaro’s conviction, he also said, “safeguards” Brazil’s institutions and the democratic rule of law.

On Thursday, a Brazilian Supreme Court panel found former President Jair Bolsonaro guilty of multiple charges, including leading a criminal group and attempting the violent overthrow of democratic rule. He was sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison.

According to the prosecution, Bolsonaro and members of his cabinet and the military sought to orchestrate a coup after his electoral defeat in November 2022 and assassinate current president and political rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Brazil’s judiciary associated the former president’s actions with the events that led to the ransacking of the presidential palace, Congress and the Supreme Court in the capital Brasilia by his supporters in January 2023.

While the verdict was welcomed by other Latin American leaders like Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Chilean President Gabriel Boric, United States President Donald Trump’s administration, a staunch ally of Bolsonaro, swiftly condemned it. In the days leading up to the court panel’s verdict, Washington intensified pressure on Brazil’s government by imposing a 50 percent tariff on Brazilian goods and issuing personal sanctions against Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes under the Magnitsky Act, citing alleged human rights abuses.

But the Brazilian government and institutions were unshaken. Lula hailed the decision as “historic” and rejected US attempts of interference in Brazil’s internal affairs.

The verdict is indeed historic, not only because it marks the first time a Brazilian head of state was convicted on such charges but also because it demonstrates that despite Brazil’s tumultuous history, its democracy is a resilient, dynamic and adaptable system that works.

This may come as a surprise to some. After all, the country’s recent past reflects struggles with authoritarianism and repression. From the seven decades of imperial monarchy in the 19th century after independence from Portugal through the republican period, the revolution of 1930, the unstable parliamentarian regime, the military dictatorship during the Cold War and the impeachment of two presidents in the democratic era, Brazil could easily be labelled as an unstable and unpredictable state.

What is more, the country is situated in a region that has long known coups, dictatorships and authoritarianism, often backed or orchestrated by the US.

Brazil’s own military dictatorship was firmly supported by the US government. Washington encouraged and backed the military coup of 1964, which ushered in an era of bloody repression that would only end two decades later. And yet, the democratic system that followed proved resilient even when confronted with wrongdoing by political leaders.

In 1979, President Joao Baptista Figueiredo signed a law giving amnesty to both military personnel and opponents of the dictatorship in an attempt to pave the way for democratisation. It also served to cover up the military regime’s crimes and protect those responsible.

In 2021, Bolsonaro decided to break with this policy of amnesty for crimes against the state by signing legislation that criminalised coup attempts and attacks on democracy. It is this very provision that was used by the Supreme Court in its ruling against him.

This is not the only time Brazilian courts have used presidents’ own legislative agendas against them. In 2005 during Lula’s first term, the country was shaken by a major scandal of vote-buying in Congress. As part of his efforts to appease the public, the president enacted the Clean Record Law (Lei da Ficha Limpa) in 2010, which rendered any candidate convicted by a collective judicial body (more than one judge) ineligible to hold public office for eight years. In 2018, Lula himself was barred from running for president again under his own law due to a conviction for corruption.

But these are not the only examples of Brazilian democracy weathering political storms linked to its leaders. The country has been through two presidential impeachments without major shocks to the system. Right-wing President Fernando Collor (1990-1992) was removed from office due to corruption involving his campaign treasurer while left-wing President Dilma Rousseff (2011-2016) lost her position for manipulating the federal budget.

The removal of both leaders did not lead to institutional instability but instead paved the way for significant reforms. Among them are the Plano Real (Real Plan) of 1994, which finally brought inflation under control, and the labour reform of 2017, which established the primacy of employer-employee agreements over existing labour legislation.

Taken together, these examples show that Brazil’s political system derives institutional strength from the application of the rule of law across the ideological spectrum.

The Brazilian case calls for a reconsideration of the longstanding but inaccurate view that Latin America is a breeding ground for unstable and unpredictable democracies. It shows that institutions are functioning and demonstrate both modernity and adaptability.

Brazil thus offers a reference point for other democracies in the region and beyond.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Last week, former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was found guilty of attempting a coup and sentenced to just over 27 years in prison.

A panel of Supreme Court justices on Thursday found that the 70-year-old had sought to overthrow democracy and hang onto power despite his 2022 electoral defeat to current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Four out of five justices voted in favour of convicting Bolsonaro and his fellow defendants. Justice Luiz Fux, in the sole dissenting vote, said there was not enough evidence to find Bolsonaro guilty of attempting a coup.

The other justices ruled that the attempted coup began in 2021 when Bolsonaro began casting unfounded doubts about the reliability of Brazil’s electronic voting system. After Bolsonaro lost to Lula, efforts to maintain himself in office illegally accelerated, they said.

Bolsonaro’s alleged multipronged plan included a draft decree to suspend the election result, a meeting with Brazil’s top military commanders to ask for their support in a coup and a plot to assassinate Lula, Vice President-elect Geraldo Alckmin and Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who spearheaded the case against Bolsonaro.

On January 8, 2023, when Bolsonaro supporters ransacked the Supreme Court, the presidential palace and Congress a week after Lula’s inauguration, it was a last-ditch effort to force an army takeover, the court said.

Relations between Brazil and the United States are likely to further deteriorate after the ruling. US President Donald Trump imposed a 50 percent tariff on Brazilian goods in July, citing what he called a “witch-hunt” against Bolsonaro. After Bolsonaro’s conviction, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Trump’s government “will respond accordingly”.

In response, Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the government will continue to defend the country’s sovereignty “from aggressions and attempts at interference, no matter where they come from”.

As Brazilians brace for economic repercussions, many are wondering about the political ones as well. Thousands of Bolsonaro supporters took to the streets this month before the high court deliberations, leading to concerns of possible violence after a guilty verdict.

But after the sentencing announcement, the streets were mostly filled with delighted Bolsonaro opponents celebrating the outcome.

Whether Bolsonaro will be granted amnesty, win some sort of appeal or be made to serve an unprecedented sentence remains to be seen. On the streets of Rio de Janeiro, Al Jazeera spoke to Brazilians about how they viewed the verdict.

Sidney Santos, 50, taxi driver, lives in Rio’s Gloria neighbourhood

“I feel very indignant and revolted because it was a set-up. The left, along with Alexandre de Moraes and the entire Supreme Court, created this whole scheme to get Bolsonaro out of politics because he was strong.

“Trump’s tariff didn’t change anything because the outcome was already planned. Trump is pressuring other countries as well, but here, the current president didn’t sit down to negotiate.

“Unfortunately, there’s no democracy. The fake democracy they’re talking about, that they claim they’re fighting for, it’s all a lie because if you say something, if you go against their actions, then you’re going against democracy. This is a dictatorship of the robe.

“The left wants to collapse Brazil and turn Brazil into the next Venezuela. Things are only going to get worse.”

Lea Aparecida Gomes, 55, cleaner, lives in Rio’s northern zone Madureira

“Bolsonaro won’t be arrested. Here in Brazil, nothing works. If he really ends up in jail, then Brazil will start working.

“When Bolsonaro ran for the first time, I voted for him because I thought he was going to make the country better. I trusted him because he was part of the military, like my son is. But I was really disappointed. The pandemic was horrible. I think a lot of people died because of him. I lost a cousin to COVID. She was 44 years old. He kept delaying the vaccine.

“I think it’s just stupidity. A person over 70 years old could be living happily with the salary he already gets, but he wanted more. Well, I hope he’s happy in prison. He brought this on himself. He had so much and still wasn’t satisfied.”

Caio Eduardo Alves de Aquino, 21, works at a kiosk in Copacabana and lives in the Rocinha favela

“I don’t care about the conviction. I don’t know whether there was an attempted coup. Whether Bolsonaro is free or in prison, for me, it doesn’t matter. They are all the same.

“The least politicians could do is think about the future of the children. They always say that children are the future, but education is terrible. My mum says school was better in her time. Everything just keeps getting worse.

“Lula talks about education, about other things, but nothing improves. Nothing changes.”

Morena, 16, student

“When I found out Bolsonaro had been convicted, it was emotional. I felt a sense of justice finally being served after so many years enduring the Bolsonaro government and its absurdity. Pure irresponsibility during the pandemic – not buying vaccines, not wearing a mask as president. This led to over 500,000 deaths. And yes, he is guilty for that.

“There was an attempted coup on January 8. I believe Bolsonaro knew about it and supported it, and I think the 27-year sentence is justified.

“It’s a very important step. He is the first former president to be arrested for attempting a coup. But there’s still a lot that needs to be done. Many arrests are still missing, and there is still much justice to be served for various things that happened during, before and after Bolsonaro’s government.

“I think a lot about remarks in small interviews or comments by Bolsonaro himself, his sons, his friends. Racist remarks, homophobic remarks, things that are criminal. He hasn’t been judged or prosecuted for those because we’re in Brazil.

“There are many others who hold the same ideology and uphold the same values as he does. Bolsonarism is still very strong. So there’s still a lot left to do. This is just the beginning.”

Altair Lima, 50, public servant who lives in Sao Paulo state

“I don’t cheer for one side. I analyse technically and coldly because I’m not on one side or the other. I want what’s best for my country. I followed the trial every day. I agree with Justice Luiz Fux’s vote: The prosecutor general didn’t prove anything.

“Bolsonaro said a lot of things during the 2022 campaign, but when politicians are campaigning, they say whatever they want to win over voters. But never once did he fail to comply with what the law required.

“Trump’s tariff is an overreaching intervention. That’s not the way to influence things, and I don’t think that’s the way things will be resolved. No country should interfere so much in another’s affairs. What’s going to resolve this is Congress itself with our laws here inside the country. I believe an amnesty law will pass. If not now, then next year.

“We currently have a sitting president who has been convicted. So everything can change.

“My father is a bus driver. My mother has been a housewife her whole life. My whole life I leaned more to the left. But after so many corruption scandals, I was disappointed.

“Brazilians are hopeful by nature, and hope is always the last thing to die. So we always hang onto the hope that one day things will get better. We work every day towards that. But it’s a very long-term thing. It’s hard.”

Brazil’s president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has dismissed criticism from the United States over the conviction of the country’s former leader, Jair Bolsonaro, on coup charges, and slammed Washington’s sweeping tariffs as “misguided” and “illogical”.

The comments, published in an op-ed in The New York Times on Sunday, came as Bolsonaro made his first public appearance since last week’s conviction for a hospital visit.

In his essay, Lula said he wanted to establish “an open and frank dialogue” with US President Donald Trump over his administration’s decision to impose a 50 percent tariff on Brazilian products in the wake of Bolsonaro’s trial.

He noted that the US has a trade surplus with Brazil, accumulating a surplus of $410bn in trade over the past 15 years, making it “clear that the motivation of the White House is political”.

The tariffs, Lula wrote, are aimed at seeking “impunity” for Bolsanaro, whom he accused of orchestrating the riots in Brasilia on January 8, 2023, when the former leader’s supporters stormed the presidential palace, the Supreme Court and the Congress in protest over his election defeat the previous year.

The events in the Brazilian capital echoed the storming of the US Capitol by Trump’s supporters on January 6, 2021, after he insisted for months, without evidence, that there had been widespread fraud during the election he lost to his Democratic rival, Joe Biden.

Lula described Bolsonaro’s actions as “an effort to subvert the popular will at the ballot box” and said he was proud of the Brazilian Supreme Court’s “historic decision” on Thursday to sentence the former president to 27 years and three months in prison.

“This was not a ‘witch hunt’,” he wrote.

Instead, it “safeguards” Brazil’s institutions and the democratic rule of law, he added.

Brazil’s democracy ‘not on table’

Lula’s op-ed comes after Trump’s secretary of state, Marco Rubio, threatened more action against Brazil over Bolsonaro’s conviction. In addition to the tariffs, the US has so far sanctioned Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who has overseen Bolsonaro’s trial, and revoked visas for most of the high court’s justices.

For his part, Trump, who has repeatedly labelled the judicial proceedings a “witch-hunt”, has said he was “surprised” by the ruling. The US president, who also had faced criminal charges over the Capitol attack before they were withdrawn following his re-election, likened the trial against Bolsonaro to the legal actions against him.

“It’s very much like they tried to do with me, but they didn’t get away with it,” Trump told reporters on Thursday, describing the former leader as a “good president” and a “good man”.

In his op-ed, Lula said the US’s decision to turn its back on a relationship of more than 200 years means that “everyone loses” and said the two countries should continue to work together in areas where they have common goals.

But he said Brazil’s democracy was non-negotiable.

“President Trump, we remain open to negotiating anything that can bring mutual benefits. But Brazil’s democracy and sovereignty are not on the table,” he wrote.

Economists in Brazil estimate that Trump’s tariffs would hurt the country’s economy, including through the loss of tens of thousands of jobs, but not derail it, given its strong trade ties with other countries such as China. The blow has further been softened when the US granted hundreds of exceptions, including on aircraft parts and orange juice.

US consumers, too, are paying more for products imported from Brazil, including coffee, which has already seen recent price rises due to droughts.

In Brasilia, meanwhile, Bolsonaro, who is under house arrest, left his home to undergo a medical procedure to remove several skin lesions.

His doctor, Claudio Birolini, told reporters that the former president had eight skin lesions removed and sent for biopsies.

He added that Bolsonaro, who has had multiple operations in recent years due to complications from a 2018 stabbing in his stomach, was “quite weak” and had developed slight anaemia, “probably due to poor nutrition over the last month”.

Dozens of supporters gathered outside the hospital to cheer on the former leader, waving Brazilian flags and shouting, “Amnesty now!”.

The chant is in reference to the push of Bolsonaro’s allies in Congress to grant the former president some kind of amnesty.

“We’re here to provide spiritual and psychological support,” Deuselis Filho, 46, told the Associated Press news agency.

Thursday’s sentence does not mean that Bolsonaro will immediately go to prison.

The court panel now has up to 60 days to publish the ruling. Once it does, Bolsonaro’s lawyers have five days to file motions for clarification.

His lawyers have said that they will try to appeal both the conviction and sentence before the full Supreme Court of 11 justices, although some experts think it is unlikely to be accepted.

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison, shortly after a majority of a Supreme Court panel voted to convict him on charges related to an attempted military coup.

On Thursday, four out of five of the justices had found Bolsonaro guilty of trying to illegally retain power after his 2022 electoral defeat to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Justice Carmen Lucia said there was ample evidence that Bolsonaro acted “with the purpose of eroding democracy and institutions”.

A fourth judge, Justice Luiz Fux, broke with his colleagues on Wednesday and voted to acquit the 70-year-old former president of all charges.

Currently under house arrest, Bolsonaro faced up to 40 years in prison after being found guilty on five charges, including leading a “criminal organisation” to conspire to overthrow Lula.

Still, Fux’s vote could invite challenges to the ruling.

Bolsonaro has maintained he will run for president in 2026, despite Brazil’s top electoral court barring him from running in elections until 2030 for spreading unfounded claims about Brazil’s electronic voting system.

The Supreme Court also convicted seven co-conspirators, including former defence minister and Bolsonaro’s 2022 running mate Walter Braga Netto; former Defence Minister Paulo Sergio Nogueira; Bolsonaro’s former aide-de-camp Mauro Cid; his military adviser Augusto Heleno Ribeiro; former Justice Minister Anderson Torres; former naval chief Almir Garnier Santos; and ex-police officer Alexandre Ramagem.

Reporting from Brasilia, Al Jazeera’s Lucia Newman said the sentencing, which was originally scheduled for Friday, was unexpected.

“It’s extremely significant and also a surprise,” she said. “The last of the five justices gave his guilty verdict just a short time ago, and then he and the remaining four had to calculate what the sentence would be.”

“We have to keep very much in mind that this may or may not happen immediately,” she added. “Bolsonaro’s lawyers and that of the other seven co-defendants still have some legal wiggle room here.”

“Apart from that, the supporters of Bolsonaro in Congress have already submitted an amnesty law, hopefully to get Bolsonaro off the hook,” she said.

United States President Donald Trump has called his ally’s trial a “witch-hunt”, hitting Brazil with 50 percent tariffs, imposing sanctions against the presiding judge, Alexandre de Moraes, and revoking visas for most members of Brazil’s high court. Trump said on Thursday that he was very unhappy about Bolsonaro’s conviction.

In a statement, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US would “respond accordingly to this witch-hunt”.

“The political persecutions by sanctioned human rights abuser Alexandre de Moraes continue, as he and others on Brazil’s supreme court have unjustly ruled to imprison former President Jair Bolsonaro,” Rubio said.

Antiestablishment anger

Bolsonaro, a former army captain and paratrooper, became known for his defence of Brazil’s two-decade military dictatorship after being elected to the back benches of Congress in 1990 in the early years of Brazil’s democracy.

He never hid his admiration for the military regime, which killed hundreds of Brazilians from 1964 to 1985.

In one interview, he said Brazil would only change “on the day that we break out in civil war here and do the job that the military regime didn’t do: killing 30,000”. He was referring to leftists and political opponents.

Later, he surfed on mass protests that erupted across Brazil in 2014 during the sprawling “car wash” bribery scandal that implicated hundreds of politicians – including Lula, whose conviction was later annulled.

His antiestablishment anger helped elevate him to the presidency in 2018, and dozens of far-right lawmakers were elected on his coattails, creating roadblocks to Lula’s progressive agenda.

Facing a close re-election campaign against Lula in 2022 – an election Lula went on to win – Bolsonaro’s comments took on an increasingly messianic quality, raising concerns about his willingness to accept the results.

“I have three alternatives for my future: being arrested, killed or victory,” he said in remarks to a meeting of evangelical Christian leaders in 2021. “No man on Earth will threaten me.”

Bolsonaro maintains a solid political base within Brazil, and the verdict is expected to be met with widespread unrest.

About 40,000 of his supporters took to the streets of Brasilia over the weekend to voice their discontent, supporting his claim that he is being politically targeted.

Sept. 11 (UPI) — Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been sentenced to more than 27 years in prison for his role in planning a 2023 coup that prosecutors claim may have included assassinating President Lula da Silva.

The nation’s Supreme Court voted to convict former Bolsonaro earlier on Thursday.

Three members of the court’s five-judge panel on Thursday voted to convict Bolsonaro, 70, on all five counts related to the coup attempt, CNN reported.

Justice Carmen Lucia Antunes Rocha delivered the deciding vote on Thursday and accused Bolsonaro of trying to “sow the malignant seed of anti-democracy,” according to The Guardian.

Justices Alexandre de Moraes and Flavio Dino on Tuesday also voted to convict the former president.

Justice Luiz Fux on Wednesday voted against the conviction and said there is “absolutely no proof” of Bolsonaro’s guilt.

Prosecutors charged Bolsonaro with plotting a coup, participating in an armed criminal organization, trying to end Brazil’s democracy by force, violent acts against the state and damaging public property.

Prosecutors also accused Bolsonaro of plotting the potential use of explosives, poison or weapons of war to assassinate Lula da Silva.

The charges arose from Bolsonaro’s supporters storming government buildings on Jan. 8, 2023, and carry a potential sentence of up to 43 years in prison.

The court is scheduled to sentence Bolsonaro on Friday after receiving the case’s final vote from Justice Cristiano Zanin.

The Brazilian Congress might approve an amnesty bill that would negate the conviction and enable Bolsonaro to run for president in 2026.

Bolsonaro is a former Brazilian military paratrooper and won election as the nation’s president in 2018.

Prosecutors said he began plotting against the Brazilian government in July 2021, which culminated in his supporters overrunning the nation’s Supreme Court, Congress and presidential palace on Jan.8, 2023.

Lawyers representing former President Jair Bolsonaro have told a panel of five justices on Brazil’s Supreme Court that their client was denied a fair hearing on charges he plotted a coup d’etat.

A verdict in the case is expected within days. But on Wednesday, Bolsonaro’s defence team argued that anything other than an acquittal would be a miscarriage of justice.

Bolsonaro’s lawyers also questioned whether the trial had been rushed due to political motives.

“We did not have access to the evidence, and much less had enough time to go through it,” lawyer Celso Vilardi told the Supreme Court.

Nevertheless, Vilardi told the court there was “not a single shred of evidence linking” Bolsonaro to the alleged plot to overturn Brazil’s 2022 election.

Overturning an election?

That election saw Bolsonaro, the incumbent, narrowly defeated in a run-off against Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the current president.

A former army captain and far-right leader, Bolsonaro has never conceded his loss, and he and his allies are accused of seeking to foment unrest in order to cling to power.

Prosecutors presented evidence suggesting that Bolsonaro and his supporters planned to declare a “state of siege” that would prompt military action and a new election. One aide allegedly proposed poisoning Lula, his left-wing rival.

Bolsonaro has denied any wrongdoing, instead framing the trial as a political hit job.

He faces five charges, including attempting a coup, seeking to end the democratic rule of law and participating in a armed criminal organisation.

Two of the charges pertain to the property damage that occurred on January 8, 2023, when thousands of Bolsonaro’s supporters stormed government buildings in the capital Brasilia to protest his defeat. Some rioters expressed that their aim was to prompt the military to intervene.

In November 2024, federal police outlined the evidence for the case in an 884-page report, and in February, Prosecutor General Paulo Gonet filed the charges.

Since then, the case has become an international spectacle, with world leaders like United States President Donald Trump weighing in.

A high-stakes trial

For some critics, the verdict will be a test of Brazil’s democracy, only four decades old.

For Bolsonaro’s supporters, however, the case is an example of the government’s efforts to censor right-wing voices. Trump, who considers Bolsonaro an ally, has placed 50 percent tariffs on Brazilian exports to the US in protest against the former president’s prosecution.

In Wednesday’s hearing, defence lawyer Paulo Cunha Bueno compared Bolsonaro’s trial to the wrongful conviction of Jewish army officer Alfred Dreyfus, a 19th-century case in France that drew international condemnation.

“An acquittal is absolutely imperative so that we don’t have our version of the Dreyfus case,” Cunha Bueno told the Supreme Court.

Bolsonaro himself is not Jewish. He has been absent from the courtroom in recent days, reportedly because of severe hiccups and other medical concerns stemming from a stabbing injury he received on the campaign trail in 2018.

In the final days of the trial, however, his lawyers have sought to cast doubt on the circumstances underpinning the case.

They questioned a plea deal reached with one of Bolsonaro’s codefendants, Lieutenant Colonel Mauro Cid, who is now a state witness. And they pointed out that the trial may have been rushed in order to avoid repercussions on the 2026 general election.

Son seeks amnesty for Bolsonaro

Outside the court, Bolsonaro’s son, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, has argued that the Supreme Court is biased against his father: One justice, Flavio Dino, was Lula’s former justice minister, and another, Cristiano Zanin, was Lula’s lawyer.

Flavio Bolsonaro has also indicated he is rallying support in Brazil’s Congress to pass an amnesty law that would protect his father and the rioters from the 2023 attack on the capital.

“We will work for a broad, general, and unlimited amnesty,” Flavio Bolsonaro told reporters on Tuesday.

Another one of the ex-president’s sons, Eduardo Bolsonaro, has reportedly made repeat visits to Trump in the White House.

But the Supreme Court has rejected any allegation of bias. At the start of Tuesday’s hearing, Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the court will also not bend to outside pressure, including from Trump.

“National sovereignty cannot, should not, and will never be vilified, negotiated or extorted,” de Moraes said.

Bolsonaro faces up to 43 years in prison if convicted.

Stronger police presence is called for to monitor the former president, who is under house arrest awaiting trial.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes has requested the police to tighten security around former President Jair Bolsonaro’s home while he is under house arrest.

Moraes on Monday sent a notice to police calling for full-time monitoring near Bolsonaro’s house to ensure he is complying with the restraining orders against him.

Earlier this month, the embattled former president was placed under house arrest after Moraes determined that he had violated precautionary measures imposed by the court restricting his social media use and political messaging.

Police said last week that they had found a draft letter on Bolsonaro’s phone of a request for asylum in Argentina. It was last edited in 2024, police said.

Bolsonaro’s legal defence said the document was not evidence that the former president was a flight risk.

Bolsonaro’s trial is expected to start on September 2. The former president faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted of plotting to overthrow his democratically elected successor as president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, in 2022.

His case has been a flashpoint for the administration of United States President Donald Trump, who insists it is a witch-hunt against his former ally.

Last month, Trump imposed 50 percent tariffs on Brazil, directly tying the levy to the trial of his fellow right-wing politician, Bolsonaro. That was followed by sanctions against Moraes, with the Trump administration accusing the judge of “arbitrary detentions that violate human rights”.

Police claim Brazil’s ex-President Jair Bolsonaro wrote letter seeking asylum in Argentina as coup investigation ramped up in 2024.

Brazil’s federal police said that messages found on the mobile phone of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro showed he once wanted to flee to Argentina and request political asylum from Argentinian President Javier Milei.

The police said in a report released on Wednesday that the letter seeking asylum was saved on Bolsonaro’s mobile phone in February 2024, just days after the former president’s passport was seized amid an investigation of his involvement in an alleged coup plot.

It was unclear whether the asylum request was sent, and the Argentinian president’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The asylum request document revealed on Wednesday was part of the final police report that formally accused Bolsonaro and his United States-based son, Eduardo, of working to interfere in the ongoing legal process related to the ex-president’s forthcoming trial for allegedly plotting a coup.

Bolsonaro’s trial is expected to start on September 2, in which he faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted of plotting to overthrow his democratically elected successor as president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, in 2022.

Police have now recommended that the ex-president and his son be charged with “coercion in the judicial process” and “abolition of the democratic law” related to interference in the coup case. The combined sentence for the two offences could reach up to 12 years in prison.

Brazilian news outlet O Dia said on Wednesday that recordings were also found on a device seized during the police investigation of Bolsonaro, which indicated “attempts to intimidate authorities and impede the progress of the investigations related to the inquiry into the attack on democracy, including attempts to use external influence”.

Bolsonaro – who has been under house arrest since early August – has maintained his innocence in the coup trial, which US President Donald Trump, an ally, has called a “witch-hunt”.

Bolsonaro’s son, Eduardo, stepped down from his position as a Brazilian congressman in March and moved to the US, where he is campaigning for the Trump administration to intercede on his father’s behalf.

Those lobbying efforts have been successful, with the Trump administration taking punitive action against Brazil over the case, including sanctions against court officials.

Trump has also imposed a massive 50 percent tariff on many Brazilian exports to the US, citing Bolsonaro’s trial.

Supreme Court will rule on ex-president’s fate in case dividing nation that could result in lengthy prison term.

Brazil’s Supreme Court says it will hand down a verdict and sentence in former President Jair Bolsonaro’s coup trial early next month, in a case that has polarised the country and drawn in the ex-leader’s ally, United States President Donald Trump.

The court announced on Friday that the five-justice panel overseeing the proceedings will deliver decisions on the five charges between September 2 and 12. A coup conviction carries a sentence of up to 12 years.

Bolsonaro, under house arrest since August 4, is accused of orchestrating a plot to cling to power after losing the 2022 presidential election to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. He denies the allegations.

Prosecutors allege Bolsonaro led a criminal organisation that sought to overturn the election results.

The case includes accusations that the plot involved plans to kill Lula and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is presiding over the trial. They have presented messages, handwritten notes and other material they say document the conspiracy.

Defence lawyers counter that no coup attempt was carried out and that Bolsonaro allowed the presidential handover to take place, undermining claims he tried to block it.

The five charges against Bolsonaro include attempting a coup, participation in an armed criminal organisation, attempted violent abolition of the democratic order, and two counts linked to destruction of state property.

Two separate five-justice panels operate within Brazil’s top court. Justice de Moraes, a frequent target of Bolsonaro’s supporters, sits on the panel hearing the case. Although Bolsonaro appointed two justices during his 2019–2022 presidency, both serve on the other panel.

Separately, right-wing Brazilian lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro said on Friday that he met with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent this week as part of his campaign to secure sanctions against officials linked to the trial of his father, Bolsonaro.

In a post on X, Bolsonaro said the meeting took place on Wednesday, the same day Bessent had been expected to hold talks with Brazilian Finance Minister Fernando Haddad.

Haddad told journalists earlier in the week that the US Treasury cancelled his meeting without offering a new date.

The younger Bolsonaro has been vocal in defending his father and calling for sanctions on his own country following his father’s alleged coup attempt.

The Supreme Court headquarters in Brasilia was one of the targets of a rioting mob of supporters known as “Bolsonaristas”, who raided government buildings in January 2023 as they urged the military to depose Lula, an insurrection attempt that evoked Trump supporters on January 6, 2021.

The rioting also prompted comparisons to Brazil’s 1964 military coup, a dark era that Bolsonaro has openly praised.

The trial has captivated Brazil’s divided public. Tensions deepened when Trump linked a 50 percent tariff on Brazilian imports to his ally’s legal battle, calling the proceedings a “witch hunt” and describing Bolsonaro as an “honest man” facing “political execution”.

The Trump administration has also sanctioned Justice de Moraes and imposed further trade restrictions on Brazil, a move widely criticised in the country as an assault on national sovereignty.

A recent Datafolha poll found more than half of Brazilians support the decision to place Bolsonaro under house arrest, while 53 percent reject the idea that he is being politically persecuted.

Former president denies involvement in alleged effort to overturn his loss in the 2022 election.

Lawyers have submitted a final statement on behalf of Brazilian ex-President Jair Bolsonaro in a trial focused on his alleged role in a plot to stay in power despite losing the 2022 election.

In a statement submitted on Wednesday evening, Bolsonaro’s legal representatives denied the charges against him and said that prosecutors had presented no convincing evidence.

“There is no way to convict Jair Bolsonaro based on the evidence presented in the case, which largely demonstrated that he ordered the transition … and assured his voters that the world would not end on December 31st,” the document states.

The right-wing former president faces up to 12 years in prison if convicted of attempting to mount a coup after losing a presidential election to left-wing rival and current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Bolsonaro, who raised alarm in the months leading up to the election by casting doubt on the voting process, has denied involvement in the plot, which allegedly included plans for Lula’s assassination.

The former leader’s legal representatives say the fact that he authorised the transition contradicts the coup allegations.

“This is evidence that eliminates the most essential of the accusatory premises,” they said.

Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet submitted final arguments in July, citing handwritten notes, digital files, message exchanges, and spreadsheets that he said show details of a conspiracy to suppress democracy.

Following Bolsonaro’s election loss, crowds of his supporters gathered outside of military bases, calling on the armed forces to intervene and prevent Lula from taking office. A group of Bolsonaro’s supporters also stormed federal buildings in the capital of Brasilia on January 8, 2023. Some drew parallels to a military coup in the 1960s that marked the beginning of a decades-long period of dictatorship, for which Bolsonaro himself has long expressed fondness.

Bolsonaro and his allies, including United States President Donald Trump, have depicted the trial as a politically motivated “witch hunt”.

A recent survey conducted by Datafolha, a Brazilian polling institute, found that more than 50 percent of Brazilians agree with the court’s decision to place Bolsonaro under house arrest in August. The survey also found that a majority believe that Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, a frequent target of right-wing ire and central figure in the trial, is following the law.

Respondents also largely disagreed with the claim that Bolsonaro was being persecuted for political reasons, with 39 percent in agreement and 53 percent in disagreement.

Speaking from the White House on Thursday, Trump said Bolsonaro was an “honest man” and the victim of an attempted “political execution”.

The Trump administration has mounted a pressure campaign to push the court to drop Bolsonaro’s case, sanctioning De Moraes and announcing severe sanctions on Brazilian exports to the US. That move has met anger in Brazil and been depicted as an attack on Brazilian sovereignty.

Brazil’s former president is under house arrest after the country’s Supreme Court found Jair Bolsonaro had violated social media and political messaging rules. Now on trial for an alleged coup attempt, United States President Donald Trump has called Bolsonaro’s prosecution a “witch hunt” and hit Brazil with 50 percent tariffs, an interference President Lula calls a breach of national sovereignty.

SAO PAULO — President Trump has made clear who his new Latin America priority is: former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a personal and political ally.

In doing so, he has damaged one of the Western hemisphere’s most important and long-standing relationships, by levying 50% tariffs that begin to take effect Wednesday on the largest Latin America economy, sanctioning its main justice and bringing relations between the two countries to the lowest point in decades.

The White House has appeared to embrace a narrative pushed by Bolsonaro allies in the U.S., that the former Brazilian president’s prosecution for attempting to overturn his 2022 election loss is part of a “deliberate breakdown in the rule of law,” with the government engaging in “politically motivated intimidation” and committing “human rights abuses,” according to Trump’s statement announcing the tariffs.

The message was clear earlier, when Trump described Bolsonaro’s prosecution by Brazil’s Supreme Court as a “witch hunt” — using the same phrase he has employed for the numerous investigations he has faced since his first term. Bolsonaro faces charges of orchestrating a coup attempt to stay in power after losing the 2022 election to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. A conviction could come in the next few months.

The U.S. has a long history of meddling with the affairs of Latin American governments, but Trump’s latest moves are unprecedented, said Steven Levitsky, a political scientist at Harvard University.

“This is a personalistic government that is adopting policies according to Trump’s whims,” Levitsky said.

Bolsonaro’s sons, he noted, have close connections to Trump’s inner circle. The argument has been bolstered by parallels between Bolsonaro’s prosecution and the attempted prosecution of Trump for trying to overturn his 2020 election loss, which ended when he won his second term last November.

“He’s been convinced Bolsonaro is a kindred spirit suffering a similar witch hunt,” Levitsky said.

Brazil’s institutions hold firm against political pressure

After Bolsonaro’s defeat in 2022, Trump and his supporters echoed his baseless election fraud claims, treating him as a conservative icon and hosting him at the Conservative Political Action Conference. Steve Bannon, the former Trump adviser, recently told Brazil’s news website UOL that the U.S. would lift tariffs if Bolsonaro’s prosecution were dropped.

Meeting that demand, however, is impossible for several reasons.

Brazilian officials have consistently emphasized that the judiciary is independent. The executive branch, which manages foreign relations, has no control over Supreme Court justices, who in turn have stated they won’t yield to political pressure.

On Monday, the court ordered that Bolsonaro be placed under house arrest for violating court orders by spreading messages on social media through his sons’ accounts.

Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversees the case against Bolsonaro, was sanctioned under the U.S. Magnitsky Act, which is supposed to target serious human rights offenders. De Moraes has argued that defendants were granted full due process and said he would ignore the sanctions and continue his work.

“The ask for Lula was undoable,” said Bruna Santos of the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington, D.C., about dropping the charges against Bolsonaro. “In the long run, you are leaving a scar on the relationship between the two largest democracies in the hemisphere.”

Magnitsky sanctions ‘twist the law’

Three key factors explain the souring of U.S.-Brazil ties in recent months, said Oliver Stuenkel, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: growing alignment between the far-right in both countries; Brazil’s refusal to cave to tariff threats; and the country’s lack of lobbying in Washington.

Lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro, Jair Bolsonaro’s third son, has been a central figure linking Brazil’s far-right with Trump’s MAGA movement.

He took a leave from Brazil’s Congress and moved to the U.S. in March, but he has long cultivated ties in Trump’s orbit. Eduardo openly called for Magnitsky sanctions against de Moraes and publicly thanked Trump after the 50% tariffs were announced in early July.

Democratic Massachusetts Rep. Jim McGovern, author of the Magnitsky Act, which allows the U.S. to sanction individual foreign officials who violate human rights, called the administration’s actions “horrible.”

“They make things up to protect someone who says nice things about Donald Trump,” McGovern told The Associated Press.

Bolsonaro’s son helps connect far right in U.S. and Brazil

Eduardo Bolsonaro’s international campaign began immediately after his father’s 2022 loss. Just days after the elections, he met with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

As investigations against Bolsonaro and his allies deepened, the Brazilian far right adopted a narrative of judicial persecution and censorship, an echo of Trump and his allies who have claimed the U.S. justice system was weaponized against him.

Brazil’s Supreme Court and Electoral Court are among the world’s strictest regulators of online discourse: they can order social media takedowns and arrests for spreading misinformation or other content it rules “anti-democratic.”

But until recently, few believed Eduardo’s efforts to punish Brazil’s justices would succeed.

That began to change last year when billionaire Elon Musk clashed with de Moraes over censorship on X and threatened to defy court orders by pulling its legal representative from Brazil. In response, de Moraes suspended the social media platform from operating in the country for a month and threatened operations of another Musk company, Starlink. In the end, Musk blinked.

Fábio de Sá e Silva, a professor of international and Brazilian studies at the University of Oklahoma, said Eduardo’s influence became evident in May 2024, when he and other right-wing allies secured a hearing before the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee.

“It revealed clear coordination between Bolsonaro supporters and sectors of the U.S. Republican Party,” he said. “It’s a strategy to pressure Brazilian democracy from the outside.”

A last-minute tariff push yields some wins

Brazil has a diplomatic tradition of maintaining a low-key presence in Washington, Stuenkel said. That vacuum created an opportunity for Eduardo Bolsonaro to promote a distorted narrative about Brazil among Republicans and those closest to Trump.

“Now Brazil is paying the price,” he said.

After Trump announced sweeping tariffs in April, Brazil began negotiations. President Lula and Vice President Geraldo Alckmin — Brazil’s lead trade negotiator — said they have held numerous meetings with U.S. trade officials since then.

Lula and Trump have never spoken, and the Brazilian president has repeatedly said Washington ignored Brazil’s efforts to negotiate ahead of the tariffs’ implementation.

Privately, diplomats say they felt the decisions were made inside the White House, within Trump’s inner circle — a group they had no access to.

A delegation of Brazilian senators traveled to Washington in the final week of July in a last-ditch effort to defuse tensions. The group, led by Senator Nelsinho Trad, met with business leaders with ties to Brazil and nine U.S. senators — only one of them Republican, Thom Tillis of North Carolina.

“We found views on Brazil were ideologically charged,” Trad told The AP. “But we made an effort to present economic arguments.”

While the delegation was in Washington, Trump signed the order imposing the 50% tariff. But there was relief: not all Brazilian imports would be hit. Exemptions included civil aircraft and parts, aluminum, tin, wood pulp, energy products and fertilizers.

Trad believes Brazil’s outreach may have helped soften the final terms.

“I think the path has to remain one of dialogue and reason so we can make progress on other fronts,” he said.

Pessoa and Riccardi write for the Associated Press. AP writer Mauricio Savarese in Sao Paulo contributed to this report.

DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY,

Justice Alexandre de Moraes rules that Bolsonaro violated pre-trial precautionary measures imposed by the court.

Brazil’s Supreme Court has issued a house arrest order for former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is standing trial for allegedly plotting a coup.

The decision, issued on Monday, comes a day after protests in support of the former far-right president were held across Brazil.

Bolsonaro is accused of seeking to overturn the 2022 election, won by his left-wing opponent, current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The order was issued by Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is facing sanctions by the administration of United States President Donald Trump for overseeing the case against Bolsonaro.

Moraes said Bolsonaro had violated precautionary measures imposed by the court restricting the former president’s social media use and political messaging.

The prosecution accuses Bolsonaro of leading an armed criminal organisation, attempting to stage a coup and attempting a violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, aggravated damage and deterioration of listed heritage.

A coup conviction carries a sentence of up to 12 years.

The former president’s supporters stormed and ransacked the National Congress and other state institutions in January 2023 to reject Lula’s victory. After his defeat weeks earlier, Bolsonaro had declined to publicly concede his loss.

Bolsonaro forcefully rejects the allegations against him, describing his prosecution as a witch-hunt.

Moraes said in his decision on Monday that the former president was posting content on the social media channels of his three lawmaker sons.

The judge added that Bolsonaro has spread messages with “a clear content of encouragement and instigation to attacks against the Supreme Court and a blatant support for foreign intervention in the Brazilian Judiciary”.

The ruling will keep Boslonaro under ankle monitoring and allow only his relatives and lawyers to visit him. All mobile phones from his home will also be seized.

The ex-president, accused of seeking to overturn the 2022 election that he lost, has been backed by US President Donald Trump.

Supporters of former far-right Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro have rallied across the main cities of the country against the Supreme Court coup trial that could land the ex-leader in prison for years.

Protesters in Sao Paolo, Rio de Janeiro and other cities on Sunday carried Brazilian and the United States flags, in an apparent reference to United States President Donald Trump’s support for a staunch ally.

They also held banners with Bolsonaro’s and Trump’s pictures on them as they shouted slogans.

Bolsonaro is accused of seeking to overturn the 2022 election won by his left-wing opponent, current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Bolsonaro supporters stormed Brazil’s congress in January 2023, ransacking the chambers and attacking police, in violent scenes that evoked Trump supporters’ attack on the US Capitol two years before.

A Brazilian general has given evidence that the alleged plotters also wanted to assassinate leftist Lula and several other public officials.

The prosecution told the court that former army officer Bolsonaro and seven others were guilty of participating in “armed criminal association” and had sought to “violently overthrow the democratic order”.

A coup conviction carries a sentence of up to 12 years. A conviction on that and other charges could bring decades behind bars for Bolsonaro.

The former president has repeatedly denied the allegations and asserted that he is the target of political persecution.

‘A witch hunt’

Bolsonaro says he is the victim of political persecution, echoing Trump’s defence when the US president faced criminal charges before his White House return.

Al Jazeera’s Monica Yanakiew, reporting from Sao Paolo, said that protesters were thanking Trump for his support.

“There are a lot of American flags here and people are saying ‘Thank you Trump’,” she said.

“They are thanking President Trump for sanctioning Brazil,” Yanakiew added.

Trump has slammed the trial a “witch hunt” and his Treasury Department has sanctioned Brazil’s Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes in response.

Brazil has strongly criticised the US decision to impose sanctions on de Moraes.

Trump has openly admitted he is punishing Brazil for prosecuting his political ally Bolsonaro. He also signed an executive order slapping 50 percent tariffs on Brazilian imports, citing Bolsonaro’s “politically motivated persecution.”

Protesters gathered on the streets of Brazil on Friday to denounce Trump for the steep tariffs he imposed on the country’s exports. The demonstrations erupted in cities like Sao Paulo and Brasilia, as residents voiced their anger on the first day of Trump’s latest tariff campaign.

Brazil is slated to see some of the highest US tariffs in the world. The tariff is due to enter into force on August 6.