Brazil: Five Officers Arrested Over Alleged 2022 Lula Assassination Plot
Federal police in Brazil on Tuesday arrested four military officers and one police officer in connection with an alleged plot to assassinate Pres. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Dec. 15, 2022 ahead of his inauguration in 2023....
Facts
- Federal police in Brazil on Tuesday arrested four military officers and one police officer in connection with an alleged plot to assassinate Pres. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Dec. 15, 2022 ahead of his inauguration in 2023.[1][2]
- Retired Gen. Mário Fernandes, who served as an executive secretary in the administration of former Pres. Jair Bolsonaro, was the highest-ranked officer among those targeted in the arrest warrants.[3][4]
- Investigators said there was also a plot to kill Vice Pres. Geraldo Alckmin and a member of the Supreme Court — reportedly Alexandre de Moraes — and install a crisis management office to carry out a coup d'état.[5][2]
- Police further said that the plot was discussed online and at the home of the running mate of Bolsonaro in his failed run for reelection in 2022, with poisoning considered as a method for the killings.[6]
- In response to these developments, Bolsonaro claimed to have no involvement in or knowledge of a plot. His son, Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, posted on X,'think[ing] about killing someone' is 'disgusting' but 'not a crime.'[7][8]
- Brazil's federal police are expected to finish in the coming weeks its months-long investigation into whether the former president sought to orchestrate a coup. Reuters reported last month that new evidence implicated him and his allies.[7][9]
Sources: [1]Agência Brasil (a), [2]Associated Press, [3]Agência Brasil (b), [4]Guardian, [5]Reuters (a), [6]Folha de S.Paulo, [7]New York Times, [8]X and [9]Reuters (b).
Narratives
- Left narrative, as provided by The Brazilian Report. Accountability for the failed coup is a matter of justice and is crucial for the future of the country's democracy. Given that military personnel and close aides to Bolsonaro were involved in this shocking assassination plot, something must also be done about the significant political influence of the country's military.
- Right narrative, as provided by Wall Street Journal. This is all part of Lula, a corrupt career politician, colluding with Brazil's heavily politicized top court to punish Bolsonaro and his allies. Right-leaning figures across the nation have been censored, and the legal system is increasingly being used as a weapon against those who dare to side with the opposition.
