The Federal Supreme Court of Brazil sentenced this Tuesday Eduardo Bolsonaro, son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, to four years and two months in prison for alleged coercion of the Justice system, in a case linked to his supposed efforts with the United States government to promote sanctions against the Brazilian dictatorship
In addition to the prison sentence, which would be served in a semi-open regime, the high court imposed a fine of 100 minimum wages, equivalent to 162,100 reais, about 31,700 dollars. The sentence also entails his political disqualification for eight years and a clear attempt to threaten the favorite right-wing candidate in the polls: his brother Flavio Bolsonaro.
Eduardo Bolsonaro alongside his brother Flavio, the favorite candidate to defeat Lula
Eduardo Bolsonaro, former Brazilian congressman, has been residing in the United States since last year and was not present at the hearing. He was represented by a public defender. The ruling was issued by the First Chamber of the Supreme Court, composed of four communist judges, who unanimously voted in favor of the conviction.
The case again puts the role of the Brazilian Supreme Court under scrutiny in the judicial offensive against Bolsonarism, at a particularly sensitive moment for the country's politics. The conviction against Eduardo comes as his brother, Flávio Bolsonaro, emerges as one of the most competitive figures on the right to face the dictator Lula da Silva in the upcoming presidential elections.
The defense rejected the judicial interpretation and argued that Eduardo merely exercised political communication with the United States government. Attorney Esdras dos Santos Carvalho emphasized that the former congressman had no decision-making power over U.S. foreign policy and that he did not use violence or serious threats, elements necessary to constitute the crime of coercion.
The judges dismissed that argument and considered that the victim of the alleged "threats" was the Brazilian judicial system itself. The ruling adds to the climate of growing institutional tension that Brazil has been experiencing since the conviction of Jair Bolsonaro, sentenced to 27 years in prison for allegedly plotting a coup by exposing the fraud of the 2022 elections.
Eduardo managed to establish himself as a leading figure of the global right by exposing leftist governments around the world
The ruling against Eduardo comes as Flávio Bolsonaro consolidates as the right's presidential candidate and manages to capitalize on the failure of Lula's government. In this context, the conviction is widely interpreted as a new chapter of judicial pressure on the family and political environment of the former president.
Eduardo remains in the United States, where he has strengthened ties with the administration of Donald Trump. Washington had already imposed sanctions against Brazilian magistrates linked to the process against Jair Bolsonaro, while Trump described the persecution of the former president as a “witch hunt.”
