Brazil supreme court sentences Bolsonaro to 27 years

Ex-president Bolsonaro convicted of coup plotting and inciting 2023 riots; US reacts with criticism and sanctions

Brasilia/Washington: Brazil’s ex-President Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years in prison on Thursday by the Supreme Court for conspiring to plot a coup after his defeat in the October 2022 elections, in a historic trial that has polarized the country and elicited sharp responses from the United States.

The 70-year-old far-right President, who has long been nicknamed “the Trump of the tropics,” was found guilty in a 4-1 vote of trying to topple President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Bolsonaro is entitled to appeal the decision, but the sentence, if it stands, could result in him spending the rest of his life in prison.

“An armed criminal group was created by the defendants, who need to be convicted upon the factual facts I find established,” said Justice Cristiano Zanin, the fifth judge and former lawyer of President Lula, making the final ruling that stamped Bolsonaro’s conviction.

In addition to Bolsonaro, seven of his attendants, who were past ministers and generals in the army, were also convicted. He was charged with inciting bloody riots in 2023, having knowledge of plans to kill leading political figures, and trying to destabilize Brazil’s democratic institutions.

Bolsonaro stayed away from the verdict hearings in Brasilia, monitoring the proceedings from his home where he is in house arrest. Throughout the nation, citizens watched the trial in detail on television and social media, demonstrating the trial’s national importance.

Reactions in Brazil were vehemently polarized. At a bar in Brasilia, customers cheered Bolsonaro’s conviction. “Finally, after all this wait, this despicable man is being taken to jail,” said translator Virgilio Soares, 46. Meanwhile, 60-year-old civil engineer Germano Cavalcante called the trial “unfair,” in proof of the persisting polarization in Brazilian society.

The United States, Brazil’s long-time ally, also acted quickly. Foreign Secretary Marco Rubio branded the trial a politicized “witch hunt,” assuring that Washington “will act accordingly.” President of the United States Donald Trump, who had once slapped heavy tariffs on Brazil as a punishment for Bolsonaro’s prosecution, said that the conviction was “very surprising” and compared it to his own courtroom troubles. That’s much like they attempted to do with me, but they didn’t succeed at all,” Trump said, referring to Bolsonaro as “a good man.”

Bolsonaro, a one-term former army captain who was in office from 2019 to 2022, insists he is the target of political persecution. He is also confronted with other challenges such as public controversy surrounding proposed amnesty legislation being championed by his backers in Congress.

The trial has laid bare profound divisions in Brazilian society. For many on the left, it is a test of the nation’s democratic pillars, and they view it as essential; on the right, its supporters call it a politically driven process. It has also strained relations with the United States, which has imposed sanctions and tariffs on Supreme Court judges, including Justice Alexandre Moraes.

Analysts caution that Bolsonaro’s conviction, coupled with his broad popularity among parts of the electorate, can spark political instability in Brazil, especially as the nation moves toward subsequent elections. The trial and its result highlight the fine line between enforcing the rule of law and navigating political polarization in one of Latin America’s most populous democracies.