A trove of leaked audio recordings from late 2022 show high-ranking Brazilian military officials discussing efforts to pressure them. Then President Jair Bolsonaro To make a coup and stay in power.
The 53 audios, obtained by federal police and accessed by The Associated Press on Monday, provide a rare opportunity to hear military members express their desire in their own voices. To retain the leftist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva from taking office.
Supreme Court Justice Alexander DeMaurice, who is overseeing the extensive police investigation, cited some of the audio in his ruling last week.iThe arrest of five people accused of plotting the assassination of then-President-elect Lula in 2022 and then attempting to oust him from power on January 8, 2023, when Bolsonaro’s supporters Government buildings were destroyed. In the capital Brasilia
Audios from a former military officer – who was not among those de Morais ordered arrested last week – are particularly pro-coup, and were not cited in de Morais’ order.
Col. Roberto Raimondo Criscoli, former sub-commander of the Army’s special forces, told retired Brig. General Mario Fernández, who was then the second-in-command of the presidency’s general secretary, said the far-right leader had a clear choice after Lula won a third consecutive term.
“It will either be a civil war now or a civil war later. We have the justification for a civil war now. People are in the streets, we have massive support,” Criscovili said in an audio. “Let’s do it now. Talk to 01.
01 is a common reference to the President of Brazil.
Neither the former president nor his ministers were heard speaking in the recording. The audios are not directly related to the November 21 formal charge. From the Brazilian police that Bolsonaro and 36 others attempted a coup.
Brazil’s military did not respond to a request for comment about the federal police investigation.
Bolsonaro often Expressing doubt on the election results Without any evidence and never admitted. He left for the United States a few days before Lula’s inauguration on January 1, 2023, and stayed there for months, keeping a low profile. The High Electoral Court has given the decision to Bolsonaro. Ineligible to run for President 2030 for abuse of power, and he is also the target of multiple investigations for a number of potential crimes.
Other audios are less clear in their words about the urgency of the uprising. In a voice message to General Fernandez, Colonel Reginaldo Vera de Abreu used a phrase often repeated by Bolsonaro to argue that the country’s constitution should be ignored.
“We’re at war, they’re winning. It’s almost over and they haven’t fired a single shot. It’s because of our incompetence,” he said.
In a December 8 audio, Bolsonaro’s aide-de-camp, Lt. Col. Morro Cid, is heard telling Gen. Fernandes that time is running out to keep his boss in office.
“On the 12th… it has to be before the 12th, right?” Cid said, referring to the day the Electoral Court will confirm Lula’s victory. “I’ll talk to the president. Sometimes it’s about his personality. He waits, waits, waits, waits to see where it’s going. It’s to see who supports him. But sometimes time is short, right?
The arrest warrant for DeMaurice referred to the CID’s comments last week, but did not include his full statement.
The CID was already under house arrest after signing a plea bargain deal with the authorities last year. His testimony has helped authorities gather evidence in various cases targeting Bolsonaro and some of his key aides, including Walter Braga-Neto, Bolsonaro’s chief of staff and running mate for re-election.
In the audio, General Fernandez, who was among de Moraes’ men ordered arrested last week, repeatedly claimed Brazil’s presidential election. was rigged for Lola. And insisted that the military high command must be pressured to help Bolsonaro’s cause before his left-wing rival takes power.
“No solution, you know, is going to happen without breaking eggs,” he said. “We have to go for it. We have public support.”
Thousands of Bolsonaro’s followers camped outside military bases to pressure military leaders to side with the then-president. Media reports at the time said that the high command did not have enough support for the coup. Bolsonaro’s supporters returned home only after the January 8 riots, at the behest of the newly installed army commander.