Brazil – Brazil’s Supreme Court will grant the last two votes on its Justice Jair Bolsonaro on Thursday – could send far-right politicians to prison within weeks and have a profound impact on the country’s politics.
So far, three of the five judges have voted 2-1, favoring a guilty verdict on all five charges of U.S. President Donald Trump’s allies.
Judge Lucia will be the first to vote. If she follows her like she did in the past – in the case, the main judge’s ruling was Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who would provide the scale for Bolsonaro’s conviction. Justice Cristiano Zanin will be the last person to vote.
The 70-year-old Bolsonaro faces charges that he attempted to illegally take office after the election defeated incumbent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in 2022.
Prosecutors alleged Bolsonaro had charged five charges in total, including attempting to engage in a coup, becoming part of an armed criminal group, attempting to abolish democratic rule of law and involving violence and posing a serious threat to the state’s assets and listed estate.
Since the trial began in 2023, Lúcia has followed De Moraes in almost every decision. Zanin, a former lawyer for Lula, also supported De Moraes in most convictions so far, but he believes he believes the punishment for other participants in the coup disagrees with his penalties.
On Wednesday, Judge Luiz Fux, unlike two of his peers who voted on Tuesday, said there was not enough evidence to oppose Bolsonaro. Fux spent 13 hours explaining his vote in front of the justice panel – despite the other justices’ seemingly upset expressions, his long labor was not challenging.
Regarding related issues, FUX ruled two of the former president’s allies. He made a majority decision for Mauro CID, who opposed the former AIDS bootcamp, and Walter Braga Netto, former chief of staff, to repeal democratic rule of law.
If convicted, a full debate on the verdict is expected on Friday. After that, the embattled former leaders may face increased pressure to choose a political heir to next year’s election to challenge Lula. The conviction could also force Allied lawmakers to seek amnesty for the former president through Congress.
In 2023, Brazil’s top electoral court banned Bolsonaro from participating in the elections until 2030, what the court said was his abuse of power.
Fux has previously lobbied the Supreme Court to throw out the Bolsonaro case, believing it is outside its jurisdiction. This position gives former leaders of the far-right a higher chance in the appeal of the future and opens up political points for him with supporters.
Legal experts say the panel’s legal requirement requires at least two votes of objection in a trial like Bolsonaro so that he can appeal to all 11 Judicial Supreme Court.
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Sá Pessoa reported on Sao Paulo.
