Prosecutors seek to optimize proceedings in coup plot

21/2/2025 6:24

Brazilian prosecutors

presented a streamlined version of charges against former

President Jair Bolsonaro this week over a plot to overturn his

2022 electoral loss, which could boost the chances of a final

ruling before next year's elections.



Prosecutor General Paulo Gonet divided the 34 alleged coup

conspirators into five different criminal complaints "to

optimize the progress of legal proceedings," he wrote in a court

filing. The complaint against Bolsonaro involves seven others.



That could mean a dramatic, televised Supreme Court trial

gets underway by the middle of the year and potentially wraps up

by December, said a person with knowledge of the court's plans.

A conviction would add to obstacles keeping Bolsonaro out of the

October 2026 presidential election.



Prosecutors have not publicly discussed the electoral

consequences of the case, but have underscored the alleged

threat to Brazil's democracy in the last election.



Still, ruling on Bolsonaro's case this year would require

extraordinary speed from Brazil's Supreme Court, which is

overseeing the case. A criminal case that involved dozens of

politicians over a decade ago took the Supreme Court six years

from the moment charges were presented until a final ruling.



"While it is not impossible, no definitive timeline can be

guaranteed," said former Supreme Court Justice Marco Aurelio

Mello. "The court must prioritize proper procedures and rights

of the defendants."



A panel of five Supreme Court justices is expected to decide

as early as April whether it will hear the charges, said the

source familiar with their thinking.



Some legal experts remain skeptical about a verdict this

year.



Raquel Scalcon, a criminal law professor at the FGV law

school in Sao Paulo, said the justices will be under pressure to

move at the right pace.



Any appearance of speeding up proceedings to influence the

2026 election could prompt questions about their impartiality,

she said. But, she added, given the importance of the case, the

court will also be criticized if it moves too slowly.



A 2017 study from the FGV law school shows that, on average,

it took the court almost four years to conclude cases involving

politicians with special standing, once they accepted charges.



However, recent rulings, such as the conviction of Bolsonaro

supporters who vandalized government buildings after the 2022

election, show the court is able to move quickly when motivated,

said Ivar Hartmann, a law professor at Insper in Sao Paulo.



"This could mean that they accept the charges in two months,

and open the penal case and rule on it by the end of the year,"

Hartmann said of the judges.



Bolsonaro's lawyers, who have denied he provided any support

for an alleged coup, did not immediately respond to requests for

comment. His attorney Celso Vilardi told TV channel GloboNews

that, based on early signals from the Supreme Court, "it seems

they want to do something rather quickly."







ADDING OBSTACLES



Bolsonaro faces five criminal charges, including taking part

in an armed criminal organization and attempting a violent

overthrow of democratic institutions.



While the maximum combined sentences for these crimes could

exceed 40 years, Rogerio Taffarello, a lawyer and partner at Sao

Paulo-based law office Mattos Filho, said any convictions would

likely involve intermediate sentences, totaling 20 to 30 years.



The case before the Supreme Court is just one of the

barriers to Bolsonaro's stated aim of running for president next

year.



In 2023, Brazil's federal electoral court barred Bolsonaro

from public office until 2030 for abusing his political power in

two different instances during his 2022 presidential campaign.

But his allies are proposing changes to laws that could, for

example, reduce how long a politician can be blocked from

running for office.



A Supreme Court conviction would add a constitutional

barrier to Bolsonaro's electoral goals, and changing that text

would be a far steeper legislative challenge. Brazil's

constitution bars convicts serving time from running for office.



Prosecutors are also expected to present charges on two

separate cases in the coming months.



Last year, Brazilian police formally accused Bolsonaro of

defrauding vaccination records to falsely show he was immunized

against COVID-19. Months later, the police also accused

Bolsonaro of embezzling jewelry he received while he was

president.