Source: Financial Times [UK]
“Prosecutors in the trial of Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro will present their closing arguments this week as the former president faces a verdict on coup plotting charges that could land him in jail for decades and deepen the country’s diplomatic crisis with the US. Prosecutors accuse the far-right former leader of planning, with the help of top military officers, to illegally remain in power after losing an election to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2022. The 70-year-old, who denies all charges, expects to be found guilty, according to those close to him. … The case has drawn the wrath of Bolsonaro’s ally, US President Donald Trump, who has launched a pressure campaign on Lula to end the trial. Trump has imposed 50 per cent tariffs on most Brazilian exports, hit supreme court justices and Lula’s justice minister with visa bans, and slapped financial sanctions on the judge overseeing the case, Alexandre de Moraes.” (09/02/25)