Brazil puts Bolsonaro on trial #InsiderTalks

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Two and a half years after supporters of Jair Bolsonaro stormed and ransacked Brazil’s Congress, Supreme Court and presidential offices on Jan. 8, 2023, Brazil’s top court is close to delivering its criminal verdict on the country’s far-right former president.

Bolsonaro is being accused of inciting the population to believe the 2022 election was rigged, discussing plans to subvert the election results with top military commanders, and plotting to execute prominent authorities — among them, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. Military officials are also in the dock, accused of similar crimes.

Bolsonaro says he is innocent and that he is the target of a “witch hunt.” US President Donald Trump's massive tariff threat, citing Brazil’s prosecution of Bolsonaro, added another layer of complexity to the trial, making it also a matter of sovereignty and judicial independence.

But what does Brazilian law say? How does this trial relate to the history of Brazilian democracy? What effects could it have on the country’s Armed Forces? How could a conviction for Bolsonaro shake up the Brazilian right?

To analyze this crucial moment for Brazil, we invited three experts with distinct and diverse backgrounds. Get to know them:

Oscar Vilhena

Dean of the São Paulo Law School at FGV and a leading scholar in constitutional law and political science. He previously worked as a state prosecutor in São Paulo, directed the United Nations Latin American Institute for the Prevention of Crime and founded human rights NGO Conectas Human Rights.

Rafael Mafei

Law professor at the University of São Paulo. He has held visiting research fellowships at the Max Planck Institute (Germany), American University (USA), and the University of Oxford (UK). His work covers the sociology and history of Brazilian political institutions, as well as criminal law.

Thais Pavez 

Managing partner at Estratégia Latina Consulting and researcher at the University of São Paulo's Center for the Study of Citizenship Rights. With academic experience in Chile and France as a political scientist, she conducts impactful studies on the far right in Brazil and its international connections.

Gustavo Ribeiro

Co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Brazilian Report. He is an award-winning journalist, and has been featured across Brazilian and French media outlets. He holds a master’s degree in political science and Latin American studies from Panthéon-Sorbonne University in Paris.

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