Live | Bolsonaro Trial: Fux’s Vote and Score on STF

Fux starts vote removing Braga Netto from crimes against democracy. After acquitting Bolsonaro, Fux begins his vote on the involvement of Walter Braga Netto, retired general and former Chief of Staff and Defense Minister, in the alleged coup plot. According to Fux, both the military parade in front of Congress and the files found with Flávio Peregrino, a military aide, do not constitute crimes against democracy. ‘Deemed irrelevant for criminal purposes are the messages that Braga Netto complains about the behavior of Freire Gomes and Baptista Júnior, associating them with communism, while praising the conduct of Almir Garnier,’ he says. ‘Indeed, a retired military officer has no means or resources to violently abolish the Democratic State. No defendant can be held accountable on this basis for their opinions,’ he adds. A music performance in support of Bolsonaro extols bombs in barracks and power and money in politics. Supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro held an event on Wednesday night near the condominium where the former Chief Executive resides. Several songs praising Bolsonaro were played on a sound truck positioned near the place where he is under house arrest. Now, the participants are offering prayers. One of the songs was a parody of the song ‘Faroeste Caboclo’ by the band Legião Urbana. The lyrics shed light on a controversial part of Bolsonaro’s past, such as the plan he orchestrated to detonate bombs in barracks. ‘In 87, he told the press that a violent protest would be carried out. He would plant bombs in the barracks to show the command that he would not back down. It was discovered, and a trial took place to convict him. He escaped and managed to go into retirement with little time in active duty,’ the lyrics state. In 1987, Bolsonaro led a plan to detonate bombs in Army barracks to demand a salary increase for officers. He denied authorship of the acts attributed to him in the song. A board composed of three colonels did condemn him, but the decision was overturned on appeal to the Higher Military Court (STM). The former President sought a salary increase for the category and did not accept the denials from the military command. The lyrics of the song also state that in 1988, Bolsonaro ran for city councilor in Rio de Janeiro to take advantage of the fame he gained from the alleged attack, which was even covered in a report by Veja magazine. His entry into politics, according to the song, was due to ‘power and money.’ ‘Shortly after, he received a tempting offer, 88 was an election year. To run for office to take advantage of the fame he gained in court. My God, what a beautiful idea, it’s very good to enter politics. This place of power is actually money, that’s all I wanted.’ Bolsonaro’s rise in politics is attributed to his ‘aggressive leadership style’ and defense of the military dictatorship. Fux says linking Bolsonaro to the January 8 events is ‘speculation.’ The minister states that the Attorney General’s Office uses General Mário Fernandes, a member of the former President’s government, to link Jair Bolsonaro to January 8. Photos of the general were found at the camp in front of the Army in Brasília in November and December 2022. There are also conversations between Fernandes and the protesters. ‘These elements can never support the speculation that Jair Bolsonaro has any kind of connection with the vandals who vandalized the headquarters of the Three Powers on January 8,’ Fux says. He asserts that there is no proof that the vandals on January 8 were camped in the federal capital in the preceding months. ‘There is no evidence that Bolsonaro knew these people and gave them orders. 40 buses came to Brasília [for January 8]. They were not the billeted individuals,’ Fux continues. The minister also says that Bolsonaro would have violated the Constitution if he had ordered the dismantling of the camps in front of the barracks. ‘Defendant Jair Bolsonaro had no duty to demobilize these demonstrations. On the contrary, if he had done so using the apparatus of public power, he would have violated the fundamental right provided for in article 5 of the Constitution.