“I never participated in meetings to discuss the coup”

General Augusto Heleno, former minister of the Institutional Security Office (GSI) in the administration of Jair Bolsonaro (PL), denied that any negotiations took place between the former president and the Armed Forces for an alleged coup d’état in 2022, after the election of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) to the Presidency of the Republic. He also stated that he never participated in meetings on the matter.

“I never participated in meetings to discuss the coup issue. The President [Bolsonaro] decided not to carry out actions outside the four lines of the Constitution. There was never a climate for illegal activities,” Heleno told UOL.

The general’s positioning occurred after UOL It’s from Globe published that, in his plea bargain, lieutenant colonel Mauro Cid, Bolsonaro’s former aide-de-camp, had said that the former president received a draft decree to call new elections and make arrests after the presidential election that elected Lula and subjected it to military analysis.

According to the reports, Cid said that the former Navy commander Almir Garnier had expressed favor with the content of the draft. The information, however, has not yet been confirmed by official sources or by Cid’s lawyer.

The report from People’s Gazette found that this information caused outrage in circles of Jair Bolsonaro supporters. This is because the leak was intended to give the idea that only the former president and Garnier had considered the possibility of triggering article 142. According to supporters, on the contrary, many people considered the possibility, but it was not taken forward.

There was a mistaken interpretation among them that the activation of article 142 could be done within the law, without disrespecting the Constitution.

Armed Forces demonstrate

In a note, the Navy informed that it did not have access to the content of Cid’s statement and that any individual opinions do not represent the official position of the Force. Check out the full note:

“The Brazilian Navy (MB) clarifies that it did not have access to the content of Lieutenant-Colonel Mauro Cid’s plea bargain. Furthermore, this Naval Force does not comment on ongoing investigative processes within the scope of the Judiciary.

Aware of its constitutional mission and its commitment to Brazilian society, MB, a national, permanent and regular institution, reaffirms that its conduct is based on faithful observance of legislation, ethical values ​​and transparency.

The MB also reiterates that any individual acts and opinions do not represent the official position of the Force and that it remains at the disposal of the justice system to fully contribute to the investigations”.

To the UOL, the Army reported that it has collaborated with the investigations, that it does not comment on ongoing investigative processes and that “it bases its actions on respect for legality, fairness and transparency in the investigation of all facts involving the military”. Read the Army note:

“[O Exército] has been following the steps taken as determined by the Court and collaborating with all investigations. And “its actions are guided by respect for legality, fairness and transparency in the investigation of all facts involving the military.”

When responding to the question of UOL regarding Cid’s denunciation, the Army responded that “the Force does not comment on ongoing investigative processes, as this is the procedure that has guided the respectful relationship between the Brazilian Army and other institutions of the Republic”.