Bolsonaro changed strategy and discussed coup after fine – 10/12/2023 – Power

Former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) changed his strategy of contesting the electoral result and began consulting military leaders about the possibility of a coup after minister Alexandre de Moraes, president of the TSE (Superior Electoral Court), imposed setbacks on the attacks of the Palácio do Planalto against electronic voting machines.

The change in stance occurred in a meeting between Bolsonaro and the commanders of the Armed Forces on November 24, at Palácio da Alvorada, according to military personnel and allies of the former president who reported to Sheet.

The day before, Moraes had rejected the PL report that called for the invalidation of votes from old model ballot boxes. The minister also condemned Bolsonaro’s campaign to pay R$22.9 million for bad faith litigation.

Irritated by the way Moraes reacted to the inspection reports made by the Armed Forces and the PL, some active and reserve military personnel and allies began to encourage Bolsonaro to lead a rupture to reverse the election of Lula (PT).

The topic is the subject of investigation by the Federal Police, and the meeting on the 24th was reported by former aide-de-camp Mauro Cid in his statement. The lieutenant colonel indicated that it was on that day that Bolsonaro consulted whether military leaders would support an intervention in the TSE, with the possible arrest of ministers and the calling of new elections.

The main focus, according to military personnel and assistants of the former president interviewed by the report, would be the decree of a GLO (Guarantee of Law and Order) operation for the Armed Forces to surround the TSE, with limitations on the entry of people and preservation of documents.

A commission made up of military and civilian personnel would be created to investigate possible irregularities in the voting system. If the commission indicated something along these lines, new elections would be called.

This is a strategy similar to that suggested in the draft decree found by the PF in the home of former Justice Minister Anderson Torres.

Bolsonaro’s entourage used a distorted interpretation of the Constitution to justify a possible GLO operation against the Superior Electoral Court — which, if it occurred, would be an attempted coup d’état.

Allies of the former president cited article 142 of the Constitution, which deals with the responsibilities of the Armed Forces. In the view of the palace military, the device would provide scope for action if abuses of the Judiciary were reported in the considerations of the decree.

In a statement, Bolsonaro’s defense stated that the former president “acted strictly within the four lines of the Constitution.”

In September, in an interview with Sheet, the former president stated that since taking office he was “constantly accused of wanting to carry out a coup”, but that he never acted outside the law. “It wouldn’t be after the second round [das eleições de 2022] that I would do this [tentar liderar um golpe]. Much less at 8/1.”

Bolsonaro changed his post-election strategy throughout the months of November and December last year. The report made to Sheet by military personnel and assistants to the former president points out that, in November, the former president relied on reports from the Armed Forces to formally question the TSE.

The Forces report, however, did not point out any irregularities. Sent to the TSE on November 9, the document showed that the statistical procedures were carried out without reservations. The analysis of the ballots also did not identify any discrepancies.

The expectation at Palácio da Alvorada then became a report contracted by the PL. On November 22, the party called for the invalidation of votes from old version ballot boxes, even without showing evidence of fraud.

They argued that 279,300 electronic voting machines “presented chronic problems of irreparable non-conformity in their functioning”.

Although the same equipment was used in the first round, when the PL elected the largest group in the Chamber, the party asked for the votes to be annulled only for the second round.

On November 23, Moraes denied the PL’s action and condemned Bolsonaro’s campaign to pay a million-dollar fine.

The following day, Bolsonaro called the Force commanders to a meeting. General Marco Antônio Freire Gomes (Army), Admiral Almir Garnier (Navy) and Brigadier Carlos Baptista Junior (Air Force) participated.

At the meeting, Almir Garnier showed his willingness to carry out the coup, as reported by Cid in his statement. Freire Gomes reported that the Army leadership was overwhelmingly against the attack. Baptista Júnior had a similar stance, according to reports obtained by the report.

It was after the meeting that several draft GLO decrees against the TSE appeared at Palácio da Alvorada. One of them was presented by advisor Filipe Martins, according to Cid.

Another scam draft was found on the former aide-de-camp’s cell phone. The document was sent by the lieutenant colonel from one phone to another, as if he were making a copy, on November 28th.

The document was obtained by the Federal Police and presented to the STF (Supreme Federal Court) in a first report analyzing Cid’s cell phone. The text said that the Judiciary had taken unconstitutional decisions that highlighted “the need to restore legal security and defend freedoms in our country.”

“After all, in view of all the above and to ensure the necessary restoration of the Democratic Rule of Law in Brazil, playing unconditionally within the four lines, based on express provisions of the 1988 Federal Constitution, I declare a State of Siege; and, as a continuous act, decree Law and Order Guarantee Operation”, concluded the document found on Cid’s cell phone.

The PF found another scam draft at Torres’ house.

Bolsonaro received several military personnel from the highest levels of the Forces to discuss the support he would have after his defeat in the second round of the elections.

General Eduardo Villas Bôas, former commander of the Army, went to the Palácio da Alvorada twice, on December 7 and 20, according to records obtained by Sheet of the former president’s confidential agenda. The meetings were reported in emails exchanged between Bolsonaro’s military staff.

The former president also received more than a dozen times the commanders of the Forces, in joint or separate meetings, and generals aligned with Bolsonarism — such as the head of the Army’s Land Operations Command, General Estevam Theophilo.

The action against the TSE caused discussions at the top of the Army. A majority were against the coup and acted to avoid an institutional rupture — one of the reasons why the proposed plan was not put into practice.