By Jorge Antonio Rocha
MEXICO CITY (AA) – Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said Wednesday that charges against him for his role in a plot to murder President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva are false.
Bolsonaro claimed on X that he is innocent of the charges filed by Brazilian prosecutors on Tuesday and said Lula's government is attempting to neutralize political opposition.
"The world is paying attention to what is happening in Brazil. The trick of accusing democratic opposition leaders of plotting coups is not something new: every authoritarian regime, in its lust for power, needs to manufacture internal enemies to justify persecution, censorship, and arbitrary arrests," wrote Bolsonaro.
He cited political turmoil in other Latin American countries, such as Venezuela, Nicaragua and Bolivia, where leaders have denounced attempted coups and violent plots to overthrow their governments following general elections.
"They fabricate vague accusations, claim to be concerned about democracy or sovereignty, and persecute opponents, silence dissenting voices, and concentrate power," he wrote.
Bolsonaro and 33 others are accused of planning the violent overthrow of Lula after the 2022 general elections.
While in office, Bolsonaro knew of a plot to murder Lula that was underway, according to the charges.
Lula refrained from directly addressing the allegations against his former rival. Instead, the Brazilian leader said that everyone is entitled to prove their innocence under his administration, including Bolsonaro.
"I'm not going to comment on a case that is before the courts. What I can say is that in this country, in the time that I govern Brazil, all people have the right to the presumption of innocence. If they prove that they didn't try to carry out a coup and that they didn't try to kill the president, the vice president, and the president of the Superior Electoral Court, they will be free and will be citizens who can travel all over Brazil," he said Wednesday.