The revelation allegedly came from Bolsonaro’s personal secretary, a lieutenant colonel named Mauro Cid, who told police investigators that Bolsonaro met with the leaders of the army, navy and air force in late 2022. The possibility of a military coup was reportedly discussed in those talks. UOL, O Globo and CNN Brazil, among others, reported on the accusation.
The Navy is on board, the Army is not
Bolsonaro himself served in the army, and made no secret of his admiration for the military dictatorship in Brazil between 1964 and 1985. After his election in 2018, he quickly became known around the world as the “Brazilian Trump” due to his populist behavior. . This comparison gained greater strength when Bolsonaro refused to accept the result after his defeat in the elections.
According to whistleblower Cid, the talks took place after Bolsonaro lost the election to leftist candidate (and current president) Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The plans will call for new elections. Political opponents of the former president should also be arrested.
Bolsonaro is said to have presented these ideas himself to the army leadership. The Navy’s commander-in-chief, Admiral Almir Garnier, reportedly responded enthusiastically, saying: “The forces are ready and awaiting your orders.” But the army leadership is said to have rejected the plan.
The former president has not yet responded to what was revealed. He previously denied planning a coup. Recently, in an interview, he seemed to have cleared the air, with The Guardian writing: “I can talk about anything, I can think about anything, but as long as I don’t implement those things, there’s no problem.”
“Prepare for prison”
The leader of the left-wing PSOL party said: “If this is true, it proves what we have been saying all year, which is that the coup was planned. The attempt failed, but I have no doubt that he himself was directly involved.” He added: “If the attempt had been successful, we would now be having this conversation in another country.”
Left-wing politician Guilherme Boulos posted a message on X (formerly Twitter) in which he wrote: “It’s time for Jair to prepare for prison.”
Army General Augusto Heleno, who served as a politician in Bolsonaro’s government, denied these reports. “Such talks were not held during the government’s tenure.”
