'The goal was to perpetuate themselves in power,' says Alexandre de Moraes about Bolsonaro and his allies.
The rapporteur states that the criminal organization led by Bolsonaro used ABIN (Brazilian Intelligence Agency) to undermine the system of checks and balances.
247 - Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes stated on Tuesday (9) that Jair Bolsonaro (PL) led a criminal organization with the objective of perpetuating himself in power. The rapporteur of the case highlighted that the group, formed by military personnel and former members of the government, structured a narrative of delegitimizing the elections and illegally used State bodies, such as the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin) and the Institutional Security Office (GSI), to attack the democratic system.
According to Moraes, the criminal organization's actions began in June 2021, when actions were taken to weaken the system of checks and balances and undermine the Judiciary, especially the Supreme Federal Court (STF) and the Superior Electoral Court (TSE). "The criminal organization began carrying out these executive acts with the aim of perpetuating itself in power, whether by controlling the Judiciary and the TSE, or by disregarding the rules of democracy and the elections that would take place in 2022," the minister stated.
Delegitimizing electronic voting machines
According to Moraes, the group's strategy was centered on constructing a narrative of discredit regarding the Brazilian electoral process. "Several actions were carried out to discredit electronic voting machines, delegitimize the Electoral Court and the Judiciary, turn a segment of the population against the Judiciary and the elections, and thereby discredit democracy and perpetuate themselves in power," he said.
He emphasized that the false narrative about alleged vulnerabilities in the ballot boxes, a national asset recognized since the redemocratization, was deliberately amplified by members of the scheme. According to Moraes, this strategy constituted a direct attack on the foundations of democracy.
Action within ABIN and GSI
Moraes also highlighted that the criminal organization improperly used the structure of ABIN (Brazilian Intelligence Agency) to create a kind of "parallel ABIN," aimed at monitoring and persecuting political adversaries. "The members of the criminal organization illicitly used ABIN to conceive their project of maintaining power, without the existence of checks and balances on the part of the Judiciary," he stated.
Furthermore, the minister cited seized documents, including notes in the diaries of high-ranking military officers, as evidence of coup planning. “It is unreasonable to consider it normal for an Army general, a four-star general, Minister of the Institutional Security Office, to have a diary with coup-plotting notes, preparing the execution of acts to delegitimize the elections, the Judiciary, and to perpetuate himself in power. I cannot understand how anyone can consider a coup-plotting agenda normal in a democracy, in the 21st century,” he declared.
Trial in progress
The trial involves Bolsonaro and seven others accused of leading the coup conspiracy known as "Green and Yellow Dagger," which included plans for the kidnapping and assassination of authorities such as President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), Vice President Geraldo Alckmin (PSB), and Moraes himself.
Also under analysis is the so-called "coup draft," a document that established the declaration of a state of defense and siege as a way to prevent the elected president from taking office. Furthermore, the group is accused of participating in the attacks of January 8, 2023, when the buildings of the Three Branches of Government were invaded and vandalized in Brasília.
Among the defendants are Alexandre Ramagem, Almir Garnier, Anderson Torres, Augusto Heleno, Paulo Sérgio Nogueira, Walter Braga Netto, and Mauro Cid, the latter being an informant in the case. The opinion of the Attorney General's Office (PGR), signed by Attorney General Paulo Gonet, calls for the conviction of all the accused, with sentences that could exceed 30 years in prison.
The trial continues in the First Panel of the Supreme Federal Court (STF), composed of Justices Cristiano Zanin, Cármen Lúcia, Alexandre de Moraes, Luiz Fux, and Flávio Dino.
