Police Report: 'Coup' Documents Found on Bolsonaro Aide's Phone

Facts

• Brazilian Federal Police claimed in a report on Friday that documents detailing potential steps to prevent the handover of power to current Pres. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva were recovered from the phone of Lt. Col Mauro Cid, an aide to former Pres. Jair Bolsonaro.¹
• Currently detained on unrelated charges in connection with the alleged forgery of Bolsonaro's COVID vaccine card, Cid reportedly received a three-page document containing strategies for a military intervention to overturn the 2022 election results.²
• The alleged roadmap to block Lula's inauguration reportedly included an "intervener" with power over the armed forces and federal security agencies, as well as a plan to purge justices who allegedly violated the constitution to favor Lula, with new elections taking place once the constitutional order had been re-established.³
• Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes disclosed this report and supporting documents after the news magazine Veja first reported the findings. Earlier this year, a draft presidential decree to interfere with the electoral results was found in the house of former Justice Minister Anderson Torres.⁴
• Bolsonaro has maintained he never took part in coup attempts, with his lawyers stating that the seized phone was simply a "mailbox" to receive complaints. The former president will face trial next Thursday for alleged abuses of political and economic power during the election, which, if proven, would prevent him from running for office for eight years.⁵
• Torres and Cid are among key figures in the Bolsonaro admin. subpoenaed this week by the committee investigating the Jan. 8 riots, which rejected motions to summon Lula-appointed former head of Institutional Security Office Gen. Gonçalves Dias.⁶

Sources: ¹Al Jazeera, ²The Messenger, ³France 24, ⁴Reuters, ⁵Últimas Noticias, and ⁶The Brazilian Report.

Narratives

• Left narrative, as provided by The Brazilian Report. Even if the coup failed, accountability for what happened in Brazil isn't only a matter of justice but is crucial for the future of the country's democracy. The current investigation is likely to reveal a coordinated, multi-pronged attempt by Bolsonaro and his accomplices to undermine the election's result. Despite the many similarities to the US Capitol riots, the political influence of Brazil's military cannot be underestimated, and this is a concern that politicians must confront in the future.
• Right narrative, as provided by Wall Street Journal. You do not have to be a Bolsonaro supporter to see that Lula is using the judicial system as a means to punish his predecessor. Lula is a leftist career politician who was convicted on corruption charges before they were stunningly reversed by activist judges. Right-leaning figures across the nation are being censored, and checks-and-balances are being curtailed as the legal system is increasingly used as a weapon against opponents. We ought to be skeptical about charges against Bolsonaro in this environment.