Thousands of Brazilians took to the streets of Sao Paulo on Sunday after former President Jair Bolsonaro called for a show of support as he faces accusations that he planned a coup to stay in power.
Dressed in the green and yellow of the Brazilian flag, which Bolsonaro claimed as a symbol while in office, an immense crowd of his followers packed Paulista Avenue, one of the main arteries of the country’s economic capital.
Bolsonaro arrived waving the Israeli flag – in rejection of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s comments comparing Israel’s offensive in Gaza to the Holocaust – before raising his hand to his chest to sing the national anthem.
The 68-year-old former army officer had urged his followers to attend a “peaceful demonstration in defense of the democratic rule of law.”
Police have confiscated Bolsonaro’s passport as he and his inner circle face scrutiny over their plans to try to stay in power after he lost the 2022 election to Lula.
Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro (pictured) sings the national anthem during a rally in Sao Paulo.
Supporters of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro attend a rally in Sao Paulo
Bolsonaro and some of his top advisers are under investigation over accusations that they planned a coup to oust his successor, Luis Inácio Lula da Silva.
An immense crowd of his followers packed Avenida Paulista, one of the main streets of the city.
The far-right former president denied the allegations and refused to answer questions during a half-hour interrogation Thursday at federal police headquarters in the city of Brasilia.
“Bolsonaro is an honest person, a victim of persecution,” said Wilson Aseka, a 63-year-old builder who traveled 700 kilometers from the state of Minas Gerais to attend the protest.
“It is important to support him, because he represents God, the country and the family,” he added, repeating the former president’s motto with a Brazilian flag hanging over his shoulders.
A week after Lula took office on January 1, 2023, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed the presidential palace, Congress and the Supreme Court, urging the military to intervene to overturn what they called a stolen election.
Bolsonaro, who was in the United States at the time, denies responsibility and has even suggested that the protesters were not actually his supporters.
However, investigators allege months of undemocratic maneuvers by Bolsonaro, from a plan to discredit Brazil’s electronic voting system to a “disinformation” campaign before the election to “legitimizing a military intervention” if he lost.
His supporters reject accusations that he planned a coup with his allies to remain in power after his failed re-election bid in 2022.
A week after Lula took office on January 1, 2023, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed the presidential palace, Congress and the Supreme Court, urging the military to intervene to overturn what they called a stolen election.
Bolsonaro called on his followers to take to the streets of Sao Paulo while the former head of state is investigated in relation to the 2023 coup attempt
He faces several other investigations, such as falsifying COVID-19 vaccination certificates.
Bolsonaro, who led Brazil from 2019 to 2022, claims to be a victim of ‘persecution’
Police say Bolsonaro edited a draft presidential decree that would have declared a state of emergency, called new elections and ordered the arrest of Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes, head of Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court.
They also released a video of a July 2022 meeting in which Bolsonaro, shouting and cursing, ordered cabinet ministers to help him discredit the electoral system.
Bolsonaro, who led Brazil from 2019 to 2022, claims to be a victim of ‘persecution’.
He faces several other investigations, such as the falsification of COVID-19 vaccination certificates or the alleged misappropriation of gifts received from other nations, such as jewelry offered by Saudi Arabia.
In June, the electoral court banned Bolsonaro from running for office until 2030 for his attacks on the electoral system.
Bolsonaro is still considered the leader of the opposition and adored by his fervent followers.
Sunday afternoon’s protest is seen as a litmus test of their support ahead of municipal elections in October.
The former far-right president has denied accusations of an attempted coup d’état
However, Bolsonaro is still considered the leader of the opposition and adored by his fervent followers.
Sunday afternoon’s protest is seen as a litmus test of his support ahead of municipal elections in October, in which his influence is expected to play a key role in a still polarized nation.
‘If there is a lot of support, he will be able to say that people are with him. Otherwise, he will lose all legitimacy,” André Rosa, a political scientist at the University of Brasilia, told AFP.
One of Bolsonaro’s lawyers, Fabio Wajngarten, said Thursday that he expected to see between 500,000 and 700,000 protesters.
‘I’m going there, to Brazil. It will be gigantic!’ wrote the legislator from Bolsonaro’s party, Bia Kicis, in X.