Military chiefs in Brazil informed police Bolsonaro considered staging a coup

According to court papers unsealed on Friday, two former military officers in Brazil have said that former President Jair Bolsonaro considered the possibility of a coup d’état in order to retain power after his defeat in the 2022 election.

Bolsonaro is at the centre of a conspiracy to impose martial law and prevent leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from assuming office, according to the testimony.

The supposed storyline never came to pass. In an effort to prevent Lula from receiving the presidential sash, Bolsonaro fled the nation. However, a few days later, his followers seized government buildings and closed roads in an effort to reverse the results on January 8, 2023.
The records were ordered to be released by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes as prosecutors look into any connections between Bolsonaro and the January 8 rioting in Brasilia.
Bolsonaro has refuted any effort at staging a coup by him or his allies.
The military commanders said, What?
In the police report, army commander Marco Antonio Freire Gomes testified that following the second round of elections, “then-President Jair Bolsonaro offered possibilities of using legal tools… regarding the electoral process” at several impromptu and unscheduled meetings at the presidential palace.
According to Freire Gomes’ testimony, Bolsonaro reportedly said at one of the sessions that he wanted to form a committee to “investigate the confirmation and the legality of the electoral process.”
However, Freire Gomes told federal investigators that he “always made it clear to the then-president that, under the conditions at the time, there was no possibility of reversing the result of the elections from a military standpoint.”
According to the records, another military officer, former air force commander Carlos de Almeida Baptista Junior, informed investigators that he also disapproved of Bolsonaro’s intentions. He said that Freire Gomes had a significant role in impeding Bolsonaro’s execution of the purported scheme.
According to federal police papers, Baptista Jr. said, “If the commander (Freire Gomes) had agreed, possibly a coup d’etat attempt would have taken place.”
According to the police papers, “Gen. Freire Gomes said that he would have to arrest the president if such a move was attempted.”
According to the records, Baptista Jr. also said in his testimony that Fleet Admiral Almir Garnier, the previous leader of Brazil’s Navy, “said he would put his troops at Jair Bolsonaro’s disposal.”How did the politicians in Brazil react?
The disclosures on Friday, according to Gleisi Hoffmann, the head of Lula’s Workers’ Party, demonstrated that “the president’s victory was fundamental to keepinging democracy” in Brazil.
Hoffmann posted on social media, saying, “We are on the right side of history.”
Fabio Wajngarten, Bolsonaro’s attorney, attacked the authorities who gave police testimony, claiming he had never heard of any scheme to keep the previous president in office.
“They support the person in charge. Their greatest asset is how insignificant they are. apologists. Bewildered by microphones, servers, and chauffeurs. “Meanwhile,” he said, unable to identify them specifically.