What is known about the draft of the coup in favor of Bolsonaro – 02/12/2024 – Power

Federal Police investigations suggest that people close to former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) tried to develop a legal basis to legitimize the coup d’état that they intended to carry out after his defeat in the 2022 presidential elections.

See what is known about the minutes of the coup.

What were the minutes of the coup?

The drafts were texts of decrees produced by those around Jair Bolsonaro after his defeat in the 2022 elections, with the aim of trying to develop a legal basis for holding new elections — which would, in practice, be a coup d’état.

Who was involved in preparing the minutes?

In the search and seizure decision against Bolsonaro, Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the STF, cited a “legal nucleus” that would be responsible for “advising and preparing draft decrees with legal and doctrinal grounds that would meet the coup interests of the group under investigation” .

This nucleus, according to the minister, included former advisor Filipe Martins, former minister Anderson Torres, lawyer Amauri Saad, priest José Eduardo de Oliveira e Silva and former aide-de-camp Mauro Cid.

Did any document like this reach Bolsonaro?

Federal Police investigations, based on Mauro Cid’s plea bargain agreement, indicate that in November 2022 Bolsonaro received a draft of a coup from former advisor Filipe Martins and lawyer Amauri Saad.

What was the content of this draft?

The document detailed alleged interference by the Judiciary in the Executive and ordered the arrest of several authorities, such as STF ministers Alexandre de Moraes and Gilmar Mendes and the president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco. The decree also provided for the holding of new elections.

What did Bolsonaro do next?

According to investigations, Bolsonaro had asked Martins to make some changes to the draft — the former president had decided to maintain the holding of new elections and the arrest of Moraes, suspending the others. A few days later, Martins returned to Palácio da Alvorada, accompanied by Saad, with the altered document.

Throughout November and December, the palace’s access records show that the former advisor was there on several days, almost always for many hours, according to Moraes’ decision.

“His contact with the then president during the period was frequent and relevant to the execution of acts aimed at the coup d’état,” wrote the minister.

What would have happened after the draft was edited?

Bolsonaro, according to investigations, agreed with the changes and called a meeting with the commanders of the Armed Forces to present the document and pressure them to join the coup.

On December 7, 2022, he would have met with generals Almir Garnier (Navy) and Freire Gomes (Army), former Defense Minister Paulo Sérgio Nogueira, former advisor Filipe Martins, lawyer Amauri Saad and former aide-de-camp Mauro Cid.

Messages sent by Cid to Freire Gomes signal, according to the PF, that Bolsonaro was adjusting the decree and seeking the support of General Estevam Cals Theophilo Gaspar de Oliveira, then head of the Land Operations Command – which would demonstrate that the coup attempt was underway. progress.

Theophilo, who was at Palácio do Planalto on December 9, 2022, would have agreed to carry out the measures for the coup, according to messages exchanged between Cid and Army Colonel Bernardo Romão Correa Neto. The only condition would be that Bolsonaro himself signed the decree.

Meanwhile, according to the Federal Police, a nucleus formed by General Augusto Heleno, former head of the Institutional Security Office, Army Colonel Marcelo Câmara and Cid monitored several authorities — among them, Minister Alexandre de Moraes. The objective would be to ensure compliance with the arrest order against him provided for in the draft, if the coup were carried out.

Where were physical versions of the drafts found?

As revealed by Sheet, a draft was found on January 10, 2023, in a search and seizure operation against former minister Anderson Torres. The three-page document, created on a computer, was found in a closet at Torres’ residence. It envisaged the establishment of a state of defense at the headquarters of the TSE (Superior Electoral Court) and the reversal of the electoral result.

In the operation launched by the PF last Thursday (8), agents found a draft in Bolsonaro’s room at the PL headquarters in Brasília. The document provided for a declaration of a state of siege and the decree of a GLO (Guarantee of Law and Order) operation after the defeat in the elections.

What does the former president say?

Bolsonaro’s defense denied his involvement in the coup draft found in the PL. His lawyers claim that they were responsible for sending the former president two minutes found on Colonel Mauro Cid’s cell phone after his arrest in May 2023. According to the defense, Bolsonaro wanted to be aware of the investigation and the content of the minutes.

“The former president never participated in or even knew about such ‘coup minutes’, having become aware of their existence only and only because of the apprehension of Lt. Col. Art Mauro Cid, and from the access that was legally given to him by his appointed lawyer in the investigation”, says a petition filed in the investigation.

The lawyers also claim that Bolsonaro does not usually read texts on his cell phone, due to vision problems, and that is why he asked his advisor to print the document.