Brazilian president accuses predecessor of plans for Jan’s ‘coup’

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva claimed on Thursday that his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro took an active part in planning his supporters to storm government buildings on Jan. 8.

“Today I know it very well and I say it loud and clear: that citizen [former president Bolsonaro] prepared the coup,” Lula said in an interview with broadcaster RedeTV!

Thousands of his backers refused to accept Bolsonaro’s election loss and broke into the presidential palace, congress and Supreme Court buildings in Brasilia a week after Lula’s inauguration.

The president was not in the capital at the time.

“I’m sure Bolsonaro took an active part in that and is still trying to take part,” Lula added when asked about his predecessor’s role in the attack.

Lula’s allegations against Bolsonaro – who has resided in the US state of Florida since late December – came on the same day a Brazilian senator accused the former president of attending a meeting on how to prevent the transfer of power.

According to Senator Marcos do Val, the plan was to force Alexandre de Moraes, president of the Superior Electoral Court, to say something incriminating while secretly recording him.

De Moraes is a favorite target of Bolsonaro supporters, who claim he interfered in the election to help Lula.

Do Val, a former Bolsonaro ally, initially told Veja magazine that it was Bolsonaro who presented the plan to him, but later changed his version of the story by saying the former president remained “silent” during the meeting.

His accusations dominated local news on Thursday, and Do Val was called to make statements to federal police.

Bolsonaro, who has applied for a six-month visa to stay in the United States, is under investigation as part of a comprehensive investigation into the January 8 attack.

AFP