27 years sentence for Bolsonaro 

The former far-right leader – in power from 2019 to 2023 – was convicted of attempted putsch aimed at preventing the return to power of the current left-wing president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, in the 2022 election.

Four out of five judges of the Federal Supreme Court, the country’s highest court, found Bolsonaro guilty.

Seven of his closest associates, including former ministers and generals who helped organize the abortive coup, were also sentenced. Their sentences range from two to twenty-six years in prison.

“The judgment is the result of procedures carried out in accordance with the Brazilian Constitution of 1988, promulgated after two decades of struggle against a military dictatorship,” Lula said following the conviction of his political rival. “Months of investigation […] revealed plans to assassinate me, the vice-president and a Supreme Court judge,” he added.

This verdict of historic significance has divided public opinion. This is the first time that a former head of state has been convicted of such crimes, in a country that was under a military dictatorship from 1964 to 1985.

The trial is also a source of tension between Brazil and the United States. US President Donald Trump has often denounced the trial of his close ally Jair Bolsonaro, calling it a “witch hunt”. For this reason, since the beginning of August, the American president has imposed a punitive surtax of 50% on a significant proportion of Brazilian exports.

President Trump described the verdict in the case as “very surprising”. “[This trial] is really reminiscent of what they tried to do to me,” Trump reacted, referring to his own legal troubles after his supporters took over Capitol Hill in Washington on January 6, 2021.

Jair Bolsonaro claims to be a victim of “persecution”, and his defense has announced that he will appeal the Supreme Court’s ruling, including to international bodies. For the time being, the former Brazilian head of state is in preventive detention at his home in Brasilia.