Begging For Forgiveness: Protests in Brazil Call For Amnesty For Former Leader Bolsonaro

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro led a demonstration over the weekend in São Paulo to push for an amnesty law that would drop criminal charges against him and also his supporters who stormed the country’s Congress in 2023 after his successor’s election win, the Associated Press reported.

Speaking to thousands of demonstrators wearing yellow Brazilian soccer jerseys, the former president said he had faith in the Brazilian people and hoped Congress would pass the amnesty law proposed by his supporters.

On Jan. 8, 2023 – a week after Luis Inácio Lula da Silva’s inauguration – Bolsonaro’s supporters stormed key government buildings in the capital of Brasília to protest the election results.

Brazilian prosecutors have charged Bolsonaro with attempting to orchestrate a coup after his election loss to Lula. Investigators also say Bolsonaro and 33 others plotted to poison Lula and kill a Supreme Court judge.

The panel of Supreme Court judges agreed that the right-wing former leader should be tried for involvement in an armed criminal organization and threatening the state’s assets and heritage sites – among other charges.

On Sunday, Bolsonaro denied the charges and said they are part of a campaign of political persecution targeting him and a ruse to disqualify him from the 2026 election, wrote MercoPress.

Bolsonaro has already been barred from running for office until 2030 by Brazil’s Electoral Court for attacking the integrity of the voting system. He said he would appeal the ruling and is preparing to run for president in 2026.