Brazil Supreme Court Convicts Bolsonaro in Coup Case

Brazil Supreme Court Convicts Bolsonaro in Coup Case

Why in News? 

Recently, Brazil’s Supreme Court convicted former President Jair Bolsonaro for plotting a Military Coup and attempting to undermine the country’s democracy. He has been sentenced to more than twenty seven years in prison.

Background of the Bolsonaro Coup Case

• After losing the 2022 Presidential Election to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Jair Bolsonaro repeatedly claimed that Brazil’s electronic voting system was flawed. 
• Bolsonaro and his allies repeatedly claimed that the result was suspicious though no court found proof of widespread fraud. These claims set the tone for later accusations.
• In 2023, supporters of Bolsonaro invaded the Congress, Supreme Court, and presidential palace in Brasilia on 8 January 2023 and demanded for reversing the election result and reinstalling Bolsonaro.
• After this incident, the head of the Liberal Party, Bolsonaro and some others were arrested by Federal Police and a Federal Police report in late 2023 and early 2024 collected evidence and testimony that Bolsonaro and several aides promoted false allegations of fraud.
• In February 2024 Brazil’s Federal Police launched Operation Tempus Veritatis. Investigators seized documents and held search and seizure operations. They uncovered meetings from July 5, 2022, including videos.
• The Federal Police found that Bolsonaro’s team prepared a draft decree to contest. They allegedly discussed infiltrating military and intelligence agencies into political campaigns and monitoring judges who oversaw elections. 
• On November 21, 2024, prosecutors formally charged Bolsonaro and dozens of others with involvement in a plot to overthrow Brazil’s democratic institutions after the 2022 election. 
• After that, the case was registered as AP 2668 in Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court with some charges. 
• On 18 February 2025 the Attorney General formally indicted Bolsonaro along with at least 34 co-defendants. The Supreme Federal Court (STF) accepted these charges in March 2025.
• In September 2025 a panel of five justices heard the case and convicted former President Jair Bolsonaro for plotting a Military Coup.

Supreme Court’s Landmark Verdict

• On 11 September 2025 Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court delivered a historic verdict against Jair Bolsonaro.
• The court convicted him under case AP 2668 for leading a coup plot and misleading participation, after his defeat in the 2022 presidential election.
• Four out of five justices found him guilty on five charges: attempting a coup, participating in an armed criminal organization, trying to abolish democratic rule of law violently, causing qualified damage, and damaging protected heritage. 
• He received a sentence of 27 years and 3 months in prison by the Supreme Federal Court (STF).
• Several of his close high rank military officers including General Walter Braga Netto, Admiral Almir Garnier and Generals Augusto Heleno were also convicted in the same case.

Relationship between the Armed Forces and Politics in Brazil

• Brazil became a republic in 1889 and the military gained important influence soon after. The Army began to see itself as a guardian of national order. During the 1930s and 1940s the military often intervened in politics. It supported coups or political changes when elites or civilians seemed weak. The military helped shape political systems well before the 1964 coup.
• On 31 March 1964 the military overthrew President João Goulart. The Armed Forces then ran Brazil under a dictatorship until 1985. They suppressed political parties, censored the media and limited civil liberties. The military governed without democratic accountability.
• Brazil adopted a new Constitution in 1988. The 1988 Constitution restored democratic institutions. It limited the military’s political power. The Constitution defined the military’s main task as defending the nation and protecting sovereignty—not interfering with the branches of government.
• Even after 1988 the Armed Forces retained prestige in Brazilian society. Many Brazilians trust the military more than political parties. The military also continued to hold important roles in national security and public order. They sometimes act in policing roles or in operations in favelas or border zones.

Military Misuse of Political Power in India

• India’s Constitution clearly establishes civilian control over the military. The President of India is the supreme commander of the armed forces.  
• The military cannot act outside laws made by elected representatives. The Constitution does not allow the military to replace civilian governments by force.
• Since independence in 1947, India has never had a military coup incident. Some past events show how political systems and institutions prevented military takeovers.
• Civil institutions such as the Supreme Court, Parliament, and civil service play a role in keeping military power constrained. The military has no right to intervene in political decisions or legislative processes.
• India has great ethnic, linguistic, religious and regional diversity. The armed forces reflect some of that diversity. Command and control run across many units and regions. Any attempt to unify a large force to act against civilian authority would be logistically and politically very challenging.