Brazil - November 2024

On 21 November, Brazil's Federal Police formally accused former President Jair Bolsonaro and over 30 supporters of attempting a coup to prevent President Lula da Silva from taking office after the 2022 elections, among several other crimes. The charges, based on a two-year investigation, allege Bolsonaro, along with ministers, aides, and military personnel, formed a criminal organization to keep him in power after his defeat. The police report, submitted to Brazil’s Supreme Court, now awaits a decision from Prosecutor General Paulo Gonet on whether to proceed with prosecution. Earlier that week, the Federal Police arrested four military personnel and a police officer accused of plotting to assassinate President Lula da Silva, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. Additionally, a Bolsonaro supporter detonated at least two bombs near the STF on 13 November in what police believe was a politically motivated attack targeting de Moraes. Former President Bolsonaro denies all charges.

Sources: BBC, The Guardian (1), Associated Press, Rio Times, Agência Brasil, BBC, The Guardian (2)

On 31 October, a Rio de Janeiro court sentenced former police officers Ronnie Lessa and Élcio Queiroz to prison for the 2018 assassination of councilwoman Marielle Franco and her driver, Anderson Gomes, and for the attempted murder of Fernanda Chaves, Franco’s advisor, who survived the attack. The men admitted to acting on orders from two high-ranking politicians and a former police chief, and received sentences of 78 and 59 years, respectively. The court found that the attack was planned months ahead and was intended to obstruct Franco’s work on housing rights for marginalized communities. As a prominent voice against police brutality and an influential Black, gay woman born in a favela, Franco’s assassination became one of the city’s most high-profile murders, exposing collusion between organized crime and politics in Brazil. The families celebrated the verdict as a step toward justice and urged accountability for the masterminds behind the crime, whose trial dates remain pending.

Sources: Brazil de Fato, The Guardian, BBC, Pagina 12, OHCHR