The former president () said in an interview published this Thursday (16) that he would support one of his children to run for the National Congress, but not for the Presidency.
“For you to be president here and do the right thing, you have to have a certain amount of experience,” the former president told the newspaper.
He has two sons who have already been speculated about the possibility of seeking the presidency, a PL senator from Rio de Janeiro, and a federal deputy from São Paulo for the same party.
Eduardo himself has already put himself forward as a case if his father’s ineligibility was not reversed.
The former president also repeated during the interview with the newspaper that he even considered a state of siege decree in 2022 because he believed that the election, won by Lula (PT), had been stolen.
Bolsonaro was declared ineligible until 2030 due to unfounded attacks on the electoral system and the political use of September 7th. He was also indicted, in November last year, on suspicion of involvement in a coup plot to prevent Lula from taking office.
According to the Federal Police, the plot involved a plan to assassinate Lula, his deputy, Geraldo Alckmin (PSB), and Alexandre de Mores, minister of the STF (Supreme Federal Court).
To the American newspaper, the former president stated that, after having discussed the state of siege, he backed down after Moraes rejected it and his team understood that Congress would also have to approve the state of siege. “‘Forget it,’ he said. ‘We lost,'” the paper reports.
Bolsonaro also claimed to know nothing about the plan to kill Lula, Alckmin and Moraes. “Whoever came up with this possible plan must respond,” he said. “For my part, there was no attempt to execute the three authorities.”
The former president also diminished the importance of the accusations, stating that the plan was “unfeasible” and “impossible”.
He also said that he is not worried about being judged, but about who will judge him, in reference to Moraes.
In addition to the coup plot case, Bolsonaro has already been indicted in: for jewelry received from Saudi Arabia and for the case of falsifying Covid-19 vaccine certificates.
The former president said he felt watched “all the time” and said that “the system doesn’t want me in prison, it wants me eliminated.”
Regarding the declared ineligibility in a case involving the meeting with foreign diplomats, when he launched unfounded attacks on the Electoral Court, Bolsonaro told the newspaper that the sentence is a “violation of democracy” and that he is looking for ways to present himself in next year’s elections.
According to the newspaper, he also stated that two judges appointed by him to form the STF —André Mendonça and Kássio Nunes Marques— told him “that my ineligibility is absurd.” Mendonça and Kássio Nunes will form the TSE before the next presidential elections.
Trump inauguration
In the interview, Bolsonaro also stated that he was proud of Trump’s invitation for him to attend the inauguration in the United States, scheduled to take place next Monday (20).
“I feel like a child again with Trump’s invitation. I’m excited. I don’t even take Viagra anymore,” he said, referring to the erectile dysfunction medication.
This Thursday (16), Bolsonaro will take office.
The former president’s passport is withheld as a result of the investigations he is the subject of, including the one dealing with suspected involvement in the 2022 coup plot.
In the report by The New York Times, Bolsonaro and Trump are called political doppelgängers — a term of German origin used to refer to identical people — due to their trajectories marked by election losses accompanied by accusations of fraud.
Bolsonaro also told the newspaper that he understands that “social networks define elections” and that Trump, Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg are leading a movement in favor of freedom of expression that, he hopes, can impact politics in Brazil.
The former president also praised Mark Zuckergerg after the businessman announced last week that he will eliminate the verification program on his platforms, in a nod to Trump.
The explanation of how Trump and technology moguls could help him with his legal challenges, however, was understood by The New York Times report as “vague”. The former president said that he “will not try to give advice to Trump”, but that he “hopes that his policies really have repercussions in Brazil”.
