On Thursday, a panel of Brazil’s Supreme Court found that former President Jea Bolsonaro was found guilty of multiple charges. He was sentenced to 27 years and three months.
According to prosecutors, Bolsonaro, his cabinet members and the military coordinated the coup after the election defeat in November 2022, attempted to assassinate current president and political rival Louise Inacio Lula da Silva. Brazilian judiciary has linked the actions of the former president to events that led to supporters’ looting of the presidential palace, parliament and the Supreme Court in the capital, Brasilia, by supporters.
The verdict was welcomed by other Latin American leaders, such as President Gustavo Petro, Chilean President Gabriel Borik, President Donald Trump’s President Gabriel Borik, and Bolsonaro’s solid allies, but he quickly condemned it. In the days leading up to the court committee’s verdict, Washington intensified pressure on the Brazilian government by imposing a 50% tariff on Brazilian goods and issuing personal sanctions against the Supreme Court’s Alexandre de Moraise under Magnitsky Act.
However, the Brazilian government and institutions did not shake up. Lula praised the decision as “historic” and rejected attempts to interfere in Brazil’s internal affairs.
This verdict is not only the first time a Brazilian head of state has been convicted of such a charge, but also demonstrates that despite Brazil’s turbulent history, its democracy is a functional, dynamic, and adaptable system.
This may be a surprise to some. After all, the country’s recent past reflects the struggle between authoritarianism and oppression. From the 70th year of imperial monarchy in the 19th century after independence from Portugal to the Republican era, the revolution in 1930, the unstable parliamentary regime, military dictatorship during the Cold War, and the bluff of two presidents in the democratic era, Brazil could easily be labelled as unstable and unstable.
Furthermore, the country is located in an area where coups, dictatorship, authoritarianism and authoritarianism have long been supported or coordinated by the United States.
Brazil’s own military dictatorship was firmly supported by the US government. Washington encouraged and supported the 1964 military coup. This has entered an era of bloody oppression that will only end in 20 years. Yet, the subsequent democratic system proved resilient, even in the face of fraud by political leaders.
In 1979, President Joao Baptista Figueild signed a law that granted pardons to both military and dictatorial opponents to both dictatorial enemies in order to pave the way for democracy. It also helped to cover up the crimes of the junta and protect those responsible.
In 2021, Bolsonaro decided to break this amnesty policy for crimes against the state by signing a law that criminalized attempts and attacks on democracy. This is exactly what the Supreme Court used in his decision against him.
This is not the only Brazilian courts have used the president’s own legislative agenda. In 2005, during Lula’s first term, the country was shaken by a major scandal in poll buying in Parliament. In 2010, the president enacted the Clean Records Act (Ray da Ficha Lymph) as part of his efforts to appease the public. In 2018, Lula herself was barred from running for president again under his own laws due to her conviction for corruption.
However, these are not the only examples of the weathered political storm of Brazil’s democracy associated with its leadership. The country has experienced two presidential ammos each without causing a major shock to the system. Right-wing President Fernando Koller (1990-1992) was removed from duties due to corruption involving the treasurer of his campaign, while left-wing President Dilma Rusev (2011-2016) lost her position to manipulate the federal budget.
The removal of both leaders did not lead to instability in the institution, but instead paved the way for important reforms. Among them was the 1994 Planoreal (actual plan), which ultimately controlled inflation. Additionally, labor reforms in 2017 established the advantages of employers and employee agreements regarding existing labor laws.
Taken together, these examples show that Brazilian political systems derive institutional strength from the application of the rule of law across the ideological spectrum.
The Brazilian incident calls for a rethinking of the longstanding but inaccurate view that Latin America is a breeding ground for unstable and unpredictable democracy. It shows that the agency is functioning and demonstrates both modernity and adaptability.
Therefore, Brazil provides a reference point based on the region and other democracy in the future.
The views expressed in this article are the authors themselves and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.
