The Economist portrays Bolsonaro as an extremist on the eve of judgment

The British Magazine The EconomistConsidering the “Bible of Liberalism,” Jair Bolsonaro print on the cover of his edition this week, portraying him as an extremist and comparing him to the “Viking of the Capitol”, a symbol of the 2021 Trumpist Invasion in the United States.

On the eve of the former president’s trial for coup attempt, scheduled for Tuesday (2) at the Supreme Court (STF), the publication states that “Brazil offers a lesson of democracy to a America that is becoming more corrupt, protectionist and authoritarian” under Donald Trump.

The report, entitled “The unlisted story of the strange and wild attempt to blow off by Bolsonaro”dedicates dozens of pages to the former president’s trajectory until the collapse of January 8, 2023.

Bolsonaro is described as the “Trump of the Tropics,” a leader who refused to accept the electoral defeat, “incited his supporters to rebel” and directly stimulated the offensive against the institutions.

For the magazine, the ongoing trial is a “historical test.” “Unlike the United States, where Trump was not held responsible for the invasion of the Capitol, Brazil is leading to trial a former president who conspired against the constitutional order,” the story says.

The visual portrait chosen by the magazine-Bolsonaro fused in the image of Jacob Chansley, the extremist who entered the US Congress with an horned hat-underlines the parallel between the far right movements in both countries.

“Methods and rhetoric are similar,” describes the text, highlighting the denial of electoral results, the use of social networks to ignite supporters and the belief in authoritarian solutions.

According to Economistthe offensive against democracy “did not start on the day of the invasion of Brasilia, but months earlier,” in the camps in front of army barracks. The largest of them, in Brasilia, even gathered more than 5,000 people and aimed to pressure the military to annul the victory of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

On the afternoon of January 8, 2023, the scene became a coup march. Dressed in green and yellow, thousands deprived the Congress, the Planalto Palace and, above all, the Federal Supreme Court. Chairs were set on fire and the sign with the name of Alexandre de Moraes was displayed as a trophy. The magazine emphasizes: “The blow failed for incompetence, not by intention.”

For the publication, the episode showed “how much the country was on the brink of chaos.” The collapse, he insists, did not result from the lack of articulation, but from the inability of the conspirators to support the rupture in the face of the institutional and social reaction.

Military, agribusiness and murder plans

One of the strongest stretches of the report reveals that “a former four-star general conspired to nullify the outcome of the election; killers planned to kill the true winner.” The so -called “Green and Yellow Dagger Operation” predicted attacks against Lula, Moraes and Alckmin, with heavy weapons and even poison. “His neutralization would shake the entire winning plate,” said the scammers.

The plan was funded by agribusiness entrepreneurs, who passed on about $ 100,000. Part of the value has reached the military of the special forces known as “black kids”, already integrated into the Bolsonaro government.

Two of them moved to Brasilia to watch Moraes. In one of the gunmen’s computers, there was even spreadsheet on how to call new elections after “neutralizing” the minister.

To the Economistthe details disassemble the thesis that January 8 was popular disorganization. “They show that there was logistics, financing and military participation,” notes the magazine, stressing that the failure was due to the lack of adhesion of the Armed Forces summit, not the absence of coup intent.

The coup decree and the religious lobby

While the plot advanced, lawyers close to Bolsonaro wrote a state of emergency decree, granting him extraordinary powers and creating a “crisis office” dominated by military. A draft speech was prepared, filled with legal jargon and references to Thomas Aquinas.

The conspiracy also had religious support. Father José de Oliveira e Silva sent messages by asking prayers for generals to have “courage to save Brazil”. In private communications, he pressured Bolsonaro in vulgar terms to act. Despite the pressure, the army and aeronautics commanders refused to join, which undermined the plan.

Moraes’ murder was tempted on December 15, 2022, but the operation was aborted when the minister did not return home and there was no military support to support the break. For the magazine, “the fact that there is no social seizure and the Armed Forces did not agree with the plan was the factors that prevented him from being executed.”

Bolsonaro falling and Eduardo in the international lobby

With the failure of the coup, Bolsonaro isolated himself and fled to Florida. Without immunity, he began to respond to more than a dozen investigations from the use of state TV to spread lies to the spying network against journalists and public agencies. In June 2023, the TSE made him ineligible for eight years.

Mauro Cid signed award-winning agreement and became a key piece of the prosecution. Even though they have omitted facts, their recovered messages confirm the participation of agro elite military personnel and evidence of Bolsonaro’s endorsement.

At the same time, Eduardo Bolsonaro assumed the role of external articulator. In an interview with EconomistHe said he hoped to make Moraes “a toxic person” by convincing Trump to sanction him for alleged threat to freedom of expression. Shortly thereafter, the US suspended visas from STF ministers, imposed sanctions on Moraes and applied 50% rates against Brazil, justified as a reaction to “witch hunt” against Bolsonaro.

The publication points out: “Many Brazilians believe that Eduardo sacrificed the good of the country for the interests of the family.”

A Economist It concludes that Bolsonaro’s trial “will be a watershed.” He and seven of his main allies – including Heleno, Braga Netto and Ramagem – face the possibility of decades of prison. “The evidence looks like flashback from Brazil’s turbulent past,” says the text.

The risk, however, did not disappear. The far right now bets on winning chairs in the Senate to try to “impeachment of Alexandre de Moraes and neutralize the courts.” The magazine warns that the threat may come “gradual, not violent and plausibly legal,” as in Russia, Hungary or El Salvador.

For the publication, Brazil is today the “democratic adult of the continent”, capable of judging a former president for conspiring against democracy. But it is also a battlefield in which the far right tests new forms of political survival. “The blow failed for incompetence”, summarizes the Economist“But the authoritarian project is still alive.”