Lula calls for popular mobilization against the risk of amnesty for Bolsonaro in Congress

The Brazilian President today acknowledged the risk that Congress might approve an amnesty against those who attempted a coup d'état, including former President Jair Bolsonaro, and called for popular mobilization to prevent such a thing from happening.

"If we vote in Congress, we risk amnesty," said Lula da Silva during a conversation with activists and residents of Aglomerado da Serra, one of the largest communities in the city of Belo Horizonte.

In the capital of the state of Minas Gerais, the Brazilian head of state acknowledged that “the far right still has a lot of strength” and that, therefore, this “is a battle that must also be fought by the people.”

“This is a time when we need to politicize our communities,” Lula da Silva emphasized.

In recent days, efforts by politicians close to Jair Bolsonaro (including the governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio Freitas) have intensified to pressure the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Hugo Motta, to put the issue to a vote.

This move comes as the trial of Jair Bolsonaro and seven members of his leadership, accused of attempted coup d'état, enters its final phase.

Today, in statements to the local press, Hugo Motta assured that “there is still no definition”, but warned that he is “always listening to the college of leaders on these issues”.

The day before, he met with Tarcísio Freitas, one of the names suggested to take over the Brazilian right and run in the 2026 presidential elections, and today he has a meeting scheduled with the leader of Bolsonaro's party (Liberal Party) in the Chamber of Deputies.

"The governor has an interest in the amnesty being implemented, and this is public, and we are listening to everyone," he said, as quoted by the G1 portal, referring to the meeting he had with the governor of São Paulo.

The project has been under discussion for some time in the legislative chambers and proposes a “broad, general and unrestricted” animism, which, in addition to benefiting the radicals already convicted of invading the headquarters of the Three Powers in Brasília on January 8, 2023, also benefits Bolsonaro himself.

This week, the final stage of the trial began, which could lead to the former Brazilian President being sentenced to more than 40 years in prison, with the Attorney General stating that “everyone converged (…) towards the common objective of ensuring the permanence of the President of the Republic at the time”.

In the first two sessions of the trial, held on Monday and Tuesday, the eight defenses were heard, followed next week (September 9, 10 and 12) by the vote of the five judges that make up the First Panel (collective) of the Supreme Federal Court (STF).

The decision to acquit or convict will be taken by a majority vote, after which there will be time for the defense and the prosecution to file an appeal to correct any contradictions or omissions.

If the decision is three to two (with two votes for acquittal), the defense can still appeal to the plenary of the STF, which has 11 judges.

This group, called “Nucleus 1” or “Crucial Nucleus,” composed of eight defendants, is charged with attempted violent abolition of the Democratic Rule of Law, attempted coup d'état, participation in an armed criminal organization, qualified damage and deterioration of property.