USA must react against Brazil after Bolsonaro’s conviction: what we know

Following the conviction of former President Jair Bolsonaro to 27 years and 3 months in prison, Donald Trump appeared ‘surprised’ and ‘displeased’ with the decision of the STF (Supreme Federal Court). In an interview with journalists, Trump praised Bolsonaro, drawing a political parallel with his own political career: ‘I watched the trial. I know him very well. Foreign leader, he was a good… I thought he was a good president of Brazil. And it’s very surprising that this happened. It’s very similar to what they tried to do to me, but failed,’ he said. The outcome of the trial may further escalate tensions in the bilateral relations between Washington and Brasilia.
The US response The threat of new measures against the Brazilian government was confirmed by the Secretary of State soon after the trial on Thursday (11). Although he did not detail actions, Marco Rubio promised an ‘appropriate’ response from the US to the trial, which he called a ‘witch hunt.’ In a social media post, he criticized Alexandre de Moraes and other STF ministers: ‘The political persecutions by the human rights violator Alexandre de Moraes, sanctioned, continue, as he and other members of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) unfairly decided on the imprisonment of former President Jair Bolsonaro,’ Rubio said. The Brazilian Foreign Ministry countered Rubio’s statement, stating that the Secretary’s remarks ‘attack Brazilian authorities and ignore facts and compelling evidence from the case files.’ ‘The Brazilian Judicial branch, exercising the independence guaranteed by the 1988 Constitution, has judged the first accused in the failed coup attempt, who had ample right to defense. Brazilian democratic institutions have responded to coup attempts,’ the statement read. And added: ‘We will continue to defend the country’s sovereignty against aggressions and attempts of interference, no matter where they come from. Eduardo Bolsonaro expects more sanctions The adoption of new measures against Brazil was anticipated by Congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro, who moved to the US earlier this year to seek support from President Donald Trump to stop criminal proceedings against his father. In an interview with Reuters, the congressman said he expects new sanctions to be imposed by the US against Brazilian authorities. He warned that all Supreme Federal Court (STF) ministers who voted for the conviction of the former president may face sanctions under the Magnitsky Act, which has been previously applied by the US government against Minister Alexandre de Moraes, the rapporteur of the case. ‘If these Supreme Court judges continue to follow Moraes, they also risk facing the same sanctions,’ Eduardo said. With this decision, Bolsonaro becomes the first president of Brazil to be convicted of a coup. The former president and other defendants are facing trial for five crimes in the Supreme Court.