- By Ione Wells
- South America correspondent in São Paulo
February 25, 2024
Updated 33 minutes ago
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Watch: Thousands demonstrate in Sao Paulo to support Brazil's former boss Jair Bolsonaro
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has claimed he has been the victim of political persecution since leaving office just over a year ago.
He told tens of thousands of supporters in São Paulo that the coup allegations against him were a “lie.”
He also called for an amnesty for hundreds of his supporters convicted of attacks on public buildings.
Police are investigating whether Mr Bolsonaro staged a failed coup after losing the 2022 election.
At Sunday's rally in Brazil's largest city, the 68-year-old former president dismissed the allegations against him as politically motivated.
He said it was time to forget the past and let Brazil move on.
He also used his speech to talk about the next presidential election in 2026.
Image source: EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock
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Jair Bolsonaro traveled to Brazil from the United States in March 2023 and said he had nothing to fear
Huge crowds dressed in yellow and green – the colors of the Brazilian flag – gathered to hear Mr Bolsonaro's speech. Those I've spoken to say they're demonstrating for freedom, especially freedom of speech.
They criticize what they see as threats to put Mr. Bolsonaro in prison for “expressing his opinion.”
Several of his supporters at the rally repeated unproven claims that the last election was fraudulent. He had asked them not to bring posters saying this or criticizing institutions like the Supreme Court.
Alexandre França, a 53-year-old commercial manager, told the BBC that many people had gathered at the rally because “we need to express what we want for our country.”
“Today everyone is afraid of oppression. That's why I think we're here to show our faces. We want Brazil for all, freedom for all,” he added.
Rogério Morgado, a 55-year-old military official, was another participant at the rally who was interviewed by the BBC. He said: “Brazilian politicians are afraid of the people on the streets, that's the only thing Brazilian politicians are afraid of.”
Mr. Bolsonaro's speech is being closely watched by authorities to determine whether it incites unrest or undermines the electoral system.
After he lost the election to leftist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, thousands of his supporters stormed government buildings in the capital Brasília – including the presidential palace, the Supreme Court and Congress – and looted and vandalized the buildings.
Three of Mr Bolsonaro's allies have now been arrested, and the leader of his political party has also been detained.
The police accuse them of sowing doubts about the electoral system, which became a rallying cry for his supporters.
This, police argue, set the stage for a possible coup. But when it failed to receive support from the armed forces, its frustrated supporters stormed Congress, the building that houses the Supreme Court and the presidential palace, on January 8 last year.
Mr Bolsonaro was in the US when the attack on Congress took place. He returned to Brazil in March 2023 and said he had nothing to fear.
He remains the most influential right-wing figurehead in Brazilian politics.