Thousands of Brazilians rally in support of Bolsonaro amid coup probe
Al Jazeera
Brazil’s former president gathers supporters in a bid to demonstrate political strength as investigations into alleged coup attempt gather pace.
Tens of thousands of Brazilians have rallied in support of former President Jair Bolsonaro amid a probe into allegations that he tried to orchestrate a coup following his election loss in 2022.
Bolsonaro, who called the rally in Sao Paulo after being targeted by a police raid earlier this month, denied the coup charges on Sunday and hit out an election ban that has seen him barred from seeking office for eight years.
“What is a coup? Tanks in the streets, weapons, conspiracy. None of that happened in Brazil,” Bolsonaro told his supporters, who filled up six blocks of Sao Paulo’s iconic Paulista Avenue.
“We cannot accept that an authority can eliminate whoever it may be from the political scene, unless it is for a fair reason,” he said.
Federal police in Brazil seized the former president’s passport earlier this month after accusing him of editing a draft decree to overturn election results following his electoral loss to leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in 2022. They also say he pressured military chiefs to join a coup attempt and plotted to jail a Supreme Court justice.
