“They brought the biggest thief in Brazil's history back to the scene of the crime. Supporter of dictatorship. What they want is dictatorship, with social control of the media”, Bolsonaro said of Brazilian President Lula da Silva, to the delight of thousands of protesters who occupied part of the shores of the famous Copacabana beach.
“Lula, thief, you belong in prison”, echoed the crowd.
Jair Bolsonaro, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they were attacking “the richest man in the world, who has a platform aimed at liberating the whole world.”
“He is a man who defends the freedom of all of us, who has the courage to show with all the evidence where our democracy is going,” he said, pointing to recent attacks by Elon Musk, the owner of the social network. X, on Alexandre de Moraes, the Supreme Court judge presiding over the trials against Bolsonaro.
Bolsonaro is being investigated by a judge for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on January 8, 2023, and has been repeatedly accused of censoring social media in recent weeks.
According to the Brazilian Federal Police, Bolsonaro, after losing the 2022 elections, discussed a draft coup with the military, which planned to arrest some Supreme Court justices, and to hold new presidential elections. , irregularities in electronic voting machines, irregularities that have never been proven.
“We never played outside the four lines. Has anyone seen this draft scam? When we talk about the state of siege, it is a proposal that the President can submit to the Brazilian Parliament within his constitutional powers”, Bolsonaro supported.
At today's demonstration, which aims to rally popular support in the fight against trials and convictions until 2030, Bolsonaro said the system “started working against freedom of expression” and “finished the work of Judge de Fora”. During the 2018 election campaign, he suffered a stab wound to make him president of Brazil.
He was defending himself after an electoral court conviction, which bars him from running for any political office for the next eight years, for “abuse of political power” three months before the election, following a meeting with several diplomats in Brasilia in which Bolsonaro gave false information about electronic voting and the military in case of irregularities. He suggested that he should intervene.
“I met the ambassadors. “I didn't meet drug dealers in Morro do Alemo,” he said, referring to the famed Rio favela.
Supporters of the former Brazilian president filled part of the Copacabana waterfront today in support of Jair Bolsonaro, as the “Our Father” was prayed and Elon Musk was praised for his fight against 'red censorship' and sexism.
From 8:30am, protesters, mostly from Rio, began positioning themselves in front of two electric trios (open-top trucks used during Carnival) that accommodate 'VIP' guests, like Jair Bolsonaro. , Michael, his parliamentary children, governors, Evangelist Silas Malafaya, and dozens of representatives and senators.
Billionaire Elon Musk was omnipresent at the demonstration. Whenever his name was mentioned there was a storm of applause.
According to local news reports, around 35,000 people participated in the demonstration.