Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro is hoping U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will help him get back to the political scene, from which he has been banned until 2030 for his role in an alleged coup to stay in power after losing the 2022 election.
Bolsonaro sees Trump's victory as a game-changer for his future in politics, and he believes his influence will extend across Latin America. "Trump is back, and it's a sign we'll be back too," the former president told The Wall Street Journal in an interview. "It's time for MAAGA—Make All Americas Great Again."
He added that both he and his son Eduardo, a lawmaker, have been in close contact with the incoming administration since their electoral victory. "I was up the whole night rooting for the big orange guy," he said, using an affectionate term in Portuguese.
Bolsonaro and Trump overlapped in their countries' highest office in 2019 and 2020, forming a close alliance as leaders of the global right. Both of their supporters also attempted to take over the country's institutions after their respective defeats, but the outcomes have been very different: Bolsonaro has been indicted and banned from office and Trump has been re-elected.
Bolsonaro has been accused of being aware and actively taking part in the coup plan to stay in power, according to a police report unsealed this week. The revelation came days after Bolsonaro and 36 other people were formally accused with attempting a coup by Federal Police. The report, over 800 pages long, has been sent to the Supreme Court, which decided to disclose its content.
The report concludes "unequivocally" that Bolsonaro "planned, acted and was directly and effectively aware of the actions of the criminal organization aiming to launch a coup d'etat and eliminate the democratic rule of law," reads a passage of the document, as reported by the Associated press.
The investigation showed that Bolsonaro presented a draft decree to the commanders of the three divisions of the armed forces aimed at launching an investigation into alleged election-related fraud and crimes, suspending the powers of the country's electoral court.
The navy's commander was ready to back Bolsonaro, but his counterparts from the army or air force rejected any course of action that prevented the inauguration of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Bolsonaro never moved forward with the plan, which was set to begin on December 15, 2022 and included assassinating Lula, his vice president Geraldo Alckmin, and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes through methods such as poisoning.
Bolsonaro has rejected all accusations against him, telling the WSJ that "they don't just want me in jail, they want me dead." Banking on Trump's support, he is planning on registering his candidacy for the 2026 election despite the ban. He hopes the incoming administration will pressure local judges to delay enforcement of the ruling so he can run and suggested Trump could use the threat of economic sanctions to do so. ""As long as the electoral court doesn't turn down my registration, it's valid."
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