“Victims of Democracy”. This is how the former president of Brazil, the right-wing extremist Jair Bolsonaro, presented himself after being disqualified for eight years, until 2030, in a photo published in networks by his lawyer and former communications minister Fabio Wajngarten.
In the image, produced to go viral, the former president appears shirtless and shows the scars of the surgeries he underwent after being stabbed in the town of Juiz de Fora during the election campaign leading up to his presidential victory in September 2018.
On Friday, hours after the long-awaited decision was confirmed, Bolsonaro referred to the physical and political stabbings. “Recently I suffered a stab wound in my abdomen. And today I was stabbed in the back for not being admitted for alleged abuse of political power,” the former president said during a meeting with the press at a restaurant in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais state, the same state as Juiz de Fora. , site of the attack in 2018.
In an interview with Radio Itatiaia from Minas Gerais on Friday, Bolsonaro said he would appeal to the Supreme Court against the Superior Electoral Tribunal’s (TSE) decision, which declared him ineligible by five votes in favor and two against . . The measure will apply from the 2022 presidential election, when the former president lost to PT member Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. In other words, the far right will not be able to vote in local or parliamentary elections in 2024, 2026, 2028 and 2030.
The TSE condemned Bolsonaro for abuses of political power and abusive use of the media during a July 2022 meeting with ambassadors that was broadcast on public television and during the election campaign. In the same action, the former vice presidential candidate also tried Walter Braga net he was unanimously acquitted.
“Political Illiterates”
Bolsonaro also suggested that the TSE had cracked down on his re-election in 2022. “We are following the way the TSE handled the elections and even banned me from doing live broadcasts in my house (the Alvorada presidential residence).” The former president continued his speech by describing those as “politically illiterate” who say the Jan. 8 Bolsonaro attack on the Three Powers headquarters was an attempted coup. The results appeared in the end and I protected myself, […] “I left Brazil on the 30th and unfortunately it happened on January 8th,” he said.
“Anyone who speaks of a putsch does not know what a putsch is. With all due respect, he is politically illiterate. No one is going to hit old men and women with the Brazilian flag on their backs and the Bible under their arms. Although we regret the destruction of public property and the people responsible for it must take responsibility,” Bolsonaro said.
At the end, it was asked if he was afraid of arrest after the outcome of the trial that left him unable to work until 2030. “Arrested for what?” Write down the reason! “That’s what’s missing,” he replied. This Thursday’s verdict is not punishable, which is why Bolsonaro does not run the risk of being imprisoned in this case.
Support
The former president received the support of fellow believers, including his lawyer Fabio Wajgarten, who described him as a “victim” of democracy. Former Vice President General Hamilton Mourão also defended him. “This is what characterizes the Brazilian electoral judiciary by curbing the will of the people,” he wrote on Twitter.
Bolsonaro also received the support of his wife, Michelle Bolsonaro, one of his potential candidates for his successor, as well as his three eldest sons, Flávio, Eduardo and Carlos, who are also in politics.
“I am at your service, my CAPTAIN,” wrote Michele on his social networks. Using photos of Bolsonaro, he highlighted a Bible verse about injustice. “For whoever does wrong will receive due compensation for the wrong done; and in this there is no exception for anyone. Colossians 3:5,” he wrote.
On Friday, Bolsonaro assured that his political capital will continue to be important for the future of Brazilian politics.