Brazilians hail strength of democracy as Bolsonaro is called to account

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Brazilians hail strength of democracy as Bolsonaro is called to account

‘In Brazil coup-mongers go to jail. In the US they get back into the White House,’ says one leading politician

Tom Phillips and Tiago Rogero in Rio de Janeiro
Wed 19 Feb 2025 19.35 GMT
Last modified on Wed 19 Feb 2025 19.53 GMT

Brazilian democrats have celebrated the strength of their country’s judiciary and institutions after the former president Jair Bolsonaro was left facing political oblivion and jail time for allegedly plotting a coup, in stark contrast to the US’s failure to bring Donald Trump to justice for his anti-democratic acts.

“In Brazil coup-mongers go to jail. In the US they get back into the White House,” said Marcelo Freixo, a leading leftwing politician on Wednesday after the attorney general formally accused Bolsonaro of engineering a sprawling conspiracy to cling to power following his defeat in the 2022 election.

For his alleged crimes – which include participation in an attempted coup d’état, an armed criminal association and a violent attempt to abolish the rule of law – Bolsonaro could face a prison sentence of over 40 years. Trump meanwhile is beginning his second term as president after managing to shirk responsibility for his alleged offenses, including inciting the January 2021 attacks in Washington DC.

“In the US Trump encouraged an attempted coup through the storming of the Capitol and emerged unpunished. In Brazil Bolsonaro led an attempted coup and he is going to jail,” said Freixo hailing the South American country as “a more serious democracy than the US”.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/19/brazil-jair-bolsonaro-coup