MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Thousands of Bolsonaro supporters march down Paulista Avenue

The STF is targetting “ice cream and popcorn vendors” for a coup d'état, which is “a disgrace,” Bolsonaro highlighted

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro spoke at a large demonstration Sunday in São Paulo, during which scoores of Brazilians pressed for Congress to issue a blanket pardon in favor of all those facing charges in connection with the Jan. 8, 2023, uprising in Brasilia against the headquarters of the three branches of Gvernment which the Supreme Federal Court (STF) ruled to be a failed coup d'état.

Bolsonaro, who is among those who would benefit from such a measure, insisted he was a victim of political persecution and likened his plight to that of Donald Trump in the United States and Marine Le Pen in France.

The retired Army captain is accused of seeking military support to block his successor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, from taking power. Facing a potential 40-year sentence, he insists on his innocence, alleging “judicial activism” targeting conservatives globally, ”as they disqualified Le Pen in France, as they wanted to disqualify Trump in the United States, as they did with the president of Romania, as (Nicolás) Maduro did in Venezuela disqualifying his opponents.“

Regarding his eight-year disenfranchisement, Bolsonaro argued that excluding him from the 2026 race undermined democracy. Sunday's event saw significant support, with his family, political allies, and seven state governors present before a crowd estimated to have amounted to 45,000 on Paulista Avenue, many wearing Brazil’s national football jerseys.

In addition, Sunday's protesters waved US and Israeli flags and carried “Amnesty Now!” banners, criticizing STF sentences such as the one against Débora Rodrigues, a hairdresser facing up to 14 years in prison for writing on a Justice statue with lipstick during the revolt. Hence, lipstick became a symbol of Bolsonarism, given its “danger” as a “weapon” during what the STF said was an attempt to overthrow the government.

Bolsonaro and seven other defendants, including former ministers and military officers, face up to 40 years in prison. A Quaest poll showed 56% of Brazilians oppose amnesty, while 34% support it.

In his message, Bolsonaro reckoned he spoke no English but tried to reach out to the international community using the words ”popcorn and ice cream.“

”I don't speak English, a big flaw in my education, but I want to give a message here to the world, and then I'll translate it for you: A Popcorn and ice cream vendor sentenced for a coup d'état in Brazil. In other words, ice cream and popcorn vendors being sentenced for a coup d'état in Brazil, it's a disgrace,” he stressed.