Coup did not occur because Bolsonaro was a “coward”, says Lula

evidence

For the president, the coup did not occur because Bolsonaro did not have the courage to complete the plan

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva commented this Monday (18) that the attempted coup d’état only did not occur because former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) was “a coward”, and because commanders of the Armed Forces did not join in. For the PT member, the evidence collected by the Federal Police (PF) proves that there was an effort to prevent him from taking office.

Lula commented on the topic during a ministerial meeting called at Palácio do Planalto, amid a drop in his popularity. The meeting took stock of the government’s actions in its first year in office.

“The previous government was concerned with stimulating hatred among people, spreading lies in this country, and it [Bolsonaro] continues doing the same way. Today, we have more clarity about the meaning of January 8th, because we know what happened in December [de 2022]”,

spoke the president.

He stressed that Bolsonaro invited members of his government to organize a coup. “Today, we are sure that this country ran a serious risk of having a coup due to the 2022 elections. And there was no coup not only because some people who were in charge of the Armed Forces did not want to do it, but also because the president was a coward,” added Lula.

Commanders testified to the PF

The statement comes after the breach of confidentiality of the testimonies by decision of Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), last Friday (15). The documents showed that the former commanders of the Exercise and the Air Force, General Freire Gomes and Brigadier Baptista Jr, respectively, were approached by Bolsonaro to discuss the coup, but refused to embark on the idea.

The testimonies even show that Freire Gomes would have threatened Bolsonaro with arrest if the coup plan was carried out.

*With information from Correio Braziliense

Read more:

Federal Government launches strategy to monitor Bolsa Família and CadÚnico

Suspect arrested for trying to kill man in a row after drinking in AM

Amazonas will gain two new IFAM headquarters, Lula announces