©️Globo TV
Brasília, 11 September 2025.- Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced on Thursday 11 September to 27 years and 3 months in prison for attempted coup d'état. He was found guilty of leading a criminal organization aimed at unlawfully remaining in power after his electoral defeat in 2022, becoming the central figure of an internal political crisis and an unprecedented diplomatic arm with the United States.
The Federal Supreme Court rendered its decision after several days of hearing. Four out of five judges, including Cristiano Zanin and Alexander de Moraes, held guilty the former far right president, believing that he had sought to establish an authoritarian regime despite Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's victory. Bolsonaro, declared ineligible until 2030, has been under house arrest since August and has not attended hearings, citing health reasons.
The conviction immediately provoked contrasting reactions. The son of the former president, Flavio Bolsonaro, denounced a « Supreme persecution »While part of the population remains deeply divided on the outcome of the trial.
Internationally, the case triggered a major crisis between Brasília and Washington. Donald Trump, President of the United States and political ally of Bolsonaro, described the conviction as « very surprising », comparing the situation with its own legal problems. In retaliation, Washington imposed a 50 per cent surcharge on a large proportion of Brazilian exports and cancelled the visas of several judges of the Federal Supreme Court, even imposing targeted sanctions against Alexander de Moraes.
For many observers, this trial marks a historic turning point for Brazilian democracy, while exacerbating diplomatic tensions with the United States, opening a new era of political and economic uncertainty.
W.A.
