On 16 June Brazil’s supreme court (STF) ordered former president Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2023) to testify at a police deposition as part of a wider investigation into the right-wing senator Marcos do Val, whom it suspects of being invited to support a potential coup d’état.
Analysis:
This latest summoning would mark Bolsonaro’s fourth deposition with the federal police (PF) since returning from the US at the end of March, having already been probed for involvement in other alleged crimes. The former president and his allies are under increasing pressure from various legal woes but especially from the investigations into the events surrounding 8 January, when Bolsonaro supporters attacked the seats of Brazil’s government. On 16 June the STF also authorised the release of evidence under seal, including even more evidence found on the phone of Bolsonaro’s former aide, Mauro Cid, which suggested a possible military coup conspiracy.
- The police raided Senator Do Val’s properties on 15 June as part of an investigation into his possible role in obstructing investigations into the riots, but the PF will be more interested in questioning Bolsonaro about a meeting held in February in which it is suspected that Bolsonaro’s allies invited Do Val to discuss a plan to stage a coup.
- On 2 February Do Val told the current affairs magazine Veja that Bolsonaro invited him to discuss a potential coup, but on the same day he contradicted himself in an interview with the national broadcaster Globonews, in which he denied that Bolsonaro was the one who reached out to him, instead stating that he was contacted by former federal deputy Daniel Silveira (affiliated with the right-leaning party, Partido Trabalhista Brasileiro, PTB) to discuss a plot to discredit the STF.
- In order to clear up the contradictory statements from February, on 16 June the STF also ordered Silveira to testify at a PF deposition.
- On 15 June Veja reported that more evidence found on Cid’s phone suggested not only a plan to authorise a Garantia da Lei e da Ordem (GLO) decree, which allows for special deployment of the armed forces, but also plans to dissolve the STF and for the armed forces to assume control of the government.
Looking Ahead: The dates for Bolsonaro’s and Silveira’s depositions have not been confirmed, but Do Val is expected to be questioned by the PF this week.
