In an interview he gave to the chain TV network!, the president of brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silvaaffirmed this Thursday that Jair Bolsonaro “he prepared the coup” when thousands of his supporters stormed the buildings at the center of power in Brasilia, on January 8, and he did not consider that the issue was over, by maintaining that the right-wing ex-president “is still trying,” in an obvious allusion to the fact that he believes that Bolsonaro maintains his objectives of destabilizing the third administration of the PT.
“Today I am aware and I will say it loud and clear: that citizen [el expresidente Bolsonaro] prepared the coup”Lula told RedeTV!
A week following the transfer of command on January 1, thousands of Bolsonaro members invaded and vandalized the offices of the Presidency, Congress and the Federal Supreme Court (STF) in Brasilia, dissatisfied with their defeat in the October presidential elections.
“I am sure that Bolsonaro actively participated in that and is still trying to participate,” added Lula, when questioned regarding the former president’s role in the coup, which is being investigated by the courts. “They wanted to make that mess on January 1, but they realized they mightn’t because there were a lot of police and a lot of people on the street,” Lula added.
His statements came the same day that a senator told the media that he had participated in a supposed meeting with Bolsonaro and a former deputy in December, in which a plan was hatched to prevent the assumption of Lula.
The supposed plan, according to the senator Marcos do Vala former ally of Bolsonaro, consisted in forcing the president of the Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE), Alexandre de Moraes, to say something compromising and secretly recording it, in order to incriminate him. The Bolsonaristas accuse the magistrate of interfering in favor of Lula in the electoral campaign.
Do Val stressed to Veja magazine that it was Bolsonaro who presented the plan to him, but he later changed his version, stating that the former president remained “silent” during the meeting. These statements dominated the local news on Thursday and Do Val was called to give statements to the Federal Police.
Bolsonaro left Brazil on December 30 and settled in a house in Orlando, United States. According to what his lawyers indicated this week, he requested a six-month visa to remain in the North American country.
The Brazilian justice included Bolsonaro in the investigation to determine who instigated the coup. The former president denies having any connection to the attacks.
Lula, 77, won the election by a narrow margin, 50.9% to 49.1%. “We defeated Bolsonaro, but Bolsonaro still has to be defeated,” Lula said in another part of the interview.
After reiterating in the campaign that he did not plan to contest re-election in 2026, this Thursday he admitted that he does not completely rule it out “Today, I would say no (…), [pero] When the time comes, if the situation is delicate and I am in good health… I might only be a candidate in perfect health. At 81 years old, but with the energy of 40 and the desire of 30”, Lula said.
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