Fromer president of Brazil, Jair Messias Bolsonaro had been a topic of many discussions and criticism in Brazil and the world. Before he stepped down after his defeat against his predecessor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva during the 2022 Brazilian presidential elections, Bolsonaro had been subjected to various criminal investigations involving corruption as well. During his presidency, Bolsonaro had always been a polarizing and controversial politician and a president for Brazil. Main reasons for that are; Bolsonaro always opposed to secularism, same sex marriage, abortion and various other topics during his time in the office.
Furthermore, during his presidency he had close relations with the prime minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán who shares similar far-right ideologies. After his defeat against President Lula da Silva on 2022 elections, his supporters stormed various federal government buildings in January 2023 while calling for a coup d’état. Later on, the Superior Electoral Court of Brazil ruled that Bolsonaro cannot run for the office until 2030 based on the allegations of fraud on election results, corruption and abuse of authority to accuse other on several accounts of corruption and related crimes. Moreover, it was stated that Bolsonaro tried to stage a coup in Brazil with the military to stay in power based on several military personal’s testimonies as well. It should be noted that he had military background which might hold bases on these allegations.
In light of these events, in February 2024, former federal government workers and officials got raided by the Brazilian Federal Police, also ordered former president to surrender his passport to them while the investigation was continuing based on the allegation of staging a coup against the government. Several testimonies were made available by the Superior Electoral Court to the public in March 2024. Two military officers said that Bolsonaro had planned to reverse the 2022 Brazilian presidential election results which he had lost against Lula da Silva and had given several senior military officials a strategy for a staged coup that would ensure his continued rule as a president. Former commander of the Brazilian Army Marco Antônio Freire Gomes stated in his testimony that he had informed Bolsonaro that “any act of institutional rupture” would not be tolerated by the army and that Bolsonaro’s actions may lead to his arrest in the future.[1]
In connection to these incidents, later on, Bolsonaro stayed in the Hungarian Embassy in Brasília last month. Obtained security footages shows that right winged populist leader was indeed in the Hungarian Embassy just four days after his two closest aides’ arrest based on the allegations of plotting to attempt a coup on the elected government. Bolsonaro seemingly made an effort to leverage on his close friendship with the prime minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán to evade the justice system of Brazil.[2] Some might suggest that Bolsonaro’s desperation to seek asylum would indicate he is well aware of his actions and afraid of the direct consequences are close to catching up.
Any related events like this might further damage the stability or the existing democracy of Brazil in the future. Taking these kinds of crimes and issues seriously are the pinnacle of democracy. When it comes to damaging or crippling a democratically elected government like those are in the claims of attempted/proposed coups must be dealt with utmost care. Bolsonaro’s alleged attempt to propose a coup to topple the government just to stay in power is a strong sign that the certain democratic foundations of Brazil were already corrupted because he was a president of the county at hand for a long period of time and spread his influence too deep into the system. Perhaps, this kind of issue should be investigated more thoroughly and generally to identify the cracks in their own systems.
In conclusion, a former president’s efforts to seek refugee in a foreign embassy is a direct sign of democratic values and norms are in shambles with the country. It is a must that he should be punished accordingly if Bolsonaro is guilty of his crimes to show to the people of Brazil and the international community that Brazil still has a strong leadership and a stable democracy in the first place. Willingness to safeguard the democracy should be prime directive in any country and right now Brazil must take care of this issue if the allegations are based on reality.
By The European Institute for International Law and International Relations
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/15/bolsonaro-brazil-coup-lula-testimony
[2] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/25/jair-bolsonaro-hiding-embassy
