https://www.scmp.com/rss/523486/feed The latest news and top stories on Jair Bolsonaro, the former president of Brazil from 2019 to 2023. In the 2022 general election, Bolsonaro lost to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and on January 8 2023, Bolsonaro's supporters stormed federal government buildings, calling for a coup d'état. A subsequent investigation revealed that Bolsonaro had planned a coup with the military to keep himself in power, and in September 2025 he was convicted and sentenced to 27 years in prison. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Reuters Reuters Former ⁠Brazilian intelligence chief Alexandre Ramagem ⁠has been detained by ICE in the ⁠United States, the agency reported on its website on Monday, after he fled Brazil in September following his conviction for plotting a coup with ex-president Jair Bolsonaro. Ramagem, a former Federal Police inspector, was sentenced to over 16 years in prison for his role ‌in a plot to overturn leftist leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s 2022 election victory over Bolsonaro. Ramagem’s lawyers did not... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3349961/brazils-fugitive-ex-spy-chief-detained-ice-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3349961/brazils-fugitive-ex-spy-chief-detained-ice-us?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Apr 2026 21:05:11 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A Brazilian Supreme Court justice on Tuesday granted a request by former president Jair Bolsonaro to temporarily serve his sentence under house arrest after his discharge from a hospital for treatment of bronchopneumonia. “I authorise temporary humanitarian house arrest … for an initial period of 90 days,” Justice Alexandre de Moraes said in a court document, adding that the period could be renewed in case of medical necessity. The 71-year-old former far-right president was sentenced to 27 years... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3347769/judge-allows-brazils-bolsonaro-serve-27-year-sentence-home-due-ill-health?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3347769/judge-allows-brazils-bolsonaro-serve-27-year-sentence-home-due-ill-health?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Mar 2026 18:51:01 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro has pneumonia and is receiving treatment in an intensive care unit, a hospital in the capital, Brasilia, said on Friday. Earlier in the day, Bolsonaro’s eldest son, Flavio, said on social media that his father was being transferred from prison to the hospital after waking up with chills and vomiting. “I ask for prayers that it not be anything serious,” Flavio wrote. He has said he would run for president this year, and recent polls show him and President... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3346564/brazils-jair-bolsonaro-icu-pneumonia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3346564/brazils-jair-bolsonaro-icu-pneumonia?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Mar 2026 17:09:34 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Thousands of supporters of Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro demonstrated in cities across the South American nation on Sunday, as organisers hoped to build momentum for a right-wing victory in the coming presidential elections. Protesters draped in yellow and green – the colours of the national flag – took to the streets in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and the capital Brasilia to voice their opposition to current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva who faces a tough re-election bid in... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3345058/supporters-ex-president-bolsonaro-rally-across-brazil-against-lula?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3345058/supporters-ex-president-bolsonaro-rally-across-brazil-against-lula?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Mar 2026 21:54:13 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro was on Thursday transferred to prison, where he will serve his sentence for orchestrating a failed coup in “more favourable” conditions, according to a court order. The 70-year-old former leader was sentenced to 27 years in prison last year for his attempts to cling to power following his narrow 2022 re-election loss to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Bolsonaro’s family has repeatedly complained on podcasts and social media about the conditions in which he was... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3340077/brazil-judge-orders-immediate-transfer-bolsonaro-better-equipped-prison?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3340077/brazil-judge-orders-immediate-transfer-bolsonaro-better-equipped-prison?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Jan 2026 23:53:29 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Brazil’s left-wing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Thursday vetoed a law dramatically reducing the prison sentence of former far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro, convicted last year of coup plotting. Lula vetoed the law adopted by Congress late last year on the third anniversary of major riots by Bolsonaro supporters in the capital Brasilia over his defeat by Lula in the 2022 elections. In scenes reminiscent of the 2021 US Capitol riots, thousands of demonstrators ransacked government... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3339240/brazils-lula-vetoes-law-reducing-bolsonaros-27-year-jail-sentence-riot-anniversary?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3339240/brazils-lula-vetoes-law-reducing-bolsonaros-27-year-jail-sentence-riot-anniversary?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Jan 2026 16:03:41 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Former Brazil president Jair Bolsonaro fell and hit his head during a “crisis” while sleeping inside his prison cell early on Tuesday, his wife said in a social media post. “My husband is not well,” Michelle Bolsonaro said, adding that the imprisoned former leader received medical attention only when he was called for her visit. Bolsonaro’s doctor said he suffered a mild traumatic brain injury and will undergo further tests, O Globo newspaper reported. Bolsonaro has been behind bars at Federal... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3338970/brazils-bolsonaro-has-brain-injury-after-falling-and-hitting-head-prison?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3338970/brazils-bolsonaro-has-brain-injury-after-falling-and-hitting-head-prison?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Jan 2026 17:01:18 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Brazil’s Supreme Court has rejected former president Jair Bolsonaro’s request to convert his prison sentence for plotting a coup to house arrest, according to a ruling published on Thursday. Bolsonaro’s lawyers submitted the request on Wednesday, citing a “real risk of a sudden worsening” in health for the far-right ex-leader as the reason to serve his 27-year sentence at home. Bolsonaro, 70, has been hospitalised for more than a week after undergoing surgery for a groin hernia and then a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3338431/bolsonaro-denied-house-arrest-brazil-supreme-court-despite-health-plea?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3338431/bolsonaro-denied-house-arrest-brazil-supreme-court-despite-health-plea?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 01 Jan 2026 14:45:43 +0000 Agencies Agencies Brazil’s former president Jair ‌Bolsonaro underwent “a phrenic nerve block procedure” on Saturday ‍to treat his persistent hiccups, his wife, Michelle Bolsonaro, said on social media. In a subsequent statement, the doctors treating Bolsonaro said they blocked ⁠the right phrenic nerve and scheduled a new procedure in 48 hours to block the left one. In medical literature, the phrenic nerve is described as a vital nerve originating ‍in the neck that controls the diaphragm, the primary muscle ‍for... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3337912/brazil-judge-puts-coup-plot-convicts-under-house-arrest-after-ex-police-commander-flees?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3337912/brazil-judge-puts-coup-plot-convicts-under-house-arrest-after-ex-police-commander-flees?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Dec 2025 18:03:25 +0000 Reuters Reuters Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro endorsed his son ‌Flavio’s 2026 presidential bid on Thursday in a statement from a hospital where he ‍underwent a scheduled hernia operation that doctors said went smoothly. Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes authorised Bolsonaro to leave prison, where he is serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup, for the surgery. Police were ordered to stay outside ⁠his room where computers and mobile phones were prohibited. Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, 44,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3337746/brazils-bolsonaro-backs-sons-residential-bid-undergoes-hernia-surgery?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3337746/brazils-bolsonaro-backs-sons-residential-bid-undergoes-hernia-surgery?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Dec 2025 18:55:05 +0000 Igor Patrick Igor Patrick Brazil is preparing to waive visa requirements for Chinese citizens travelling for tourism and business, local media reported on Wednesday citing government sources, in a move that would mark a significant shift in policy and deepen ties with its largest trading partner. The planned measure, expected to be announced in early 2026, would put Brazil on a reciprocal footing after China unilaterally granted visa-free entry to Brazilians for short stays. According to local newspaper Valor Economico,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3337667/brazil-weighs-visa-free-travel-chinese-nationals-capture-booming-outbound-market?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3337667/brazil-weighs-visa-free-travel-chinese-nationals-capture-booming-outbound-market?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Dec 2025 16:38:37 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Thursday that he would veto a bill that could significantly reduce the 27-year prison sentence of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who was arrested in November for attempting a coup. The Senate passed the bill late on Wednesday, following approval by the Chamber of Deputies. “With all due respect to the National Congress, when it reaches my desk, I will veto it,” Lula told journalists in Brasilia, noting that those who committed crimes against... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3336970/brazils-lula-vows-veto-bill-slashing-bolsonaros-27-year-prison-term?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3336970/brazils-lula-vows-veto-bill-slashing-bolsonaros-27-year-prison-term?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Dec 2025 18:09:41 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Brazil’s Senate on Wednesday passed a bill to slash the prison term of far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro, who was convicted of plotting a coup after losing re-election to left-winger Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Passed by the lower chamber last week, the bill now heads to Lula, whose expected veto could eventually be overridden by Congress. Bolsonaro, 70, began a 27-year prison sentence in November, and under current rules was expected to serve at least eight years behind bars before... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3336844/brazils-congress-passes-bill-cut-bolsonaros-27-year-prison-sentence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3336844/brazils-congress-passes-bill-cut-bolsonaros-27-year-prison-sentence?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Dec 2025 02:26:55 +0000 Rob York Rob York The new US national security strategy says a great deal about how the government imagines its foreign policy in the next few years but tells us just as much about communism and the US president’s view of it. Donald Trump has long had an unusual relationship with communism, in that he does not seem especially concerned by it. Yes, it’s true he does denounce “communists”, “socialists”, “radicals” and “the far left”, but he is rarely speaking about communist regimes opposed to US interests... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3336268/trump-only-communists-really-dislike-are-those-home?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3336268/trump-only-communists-really-dislike-are-those-home?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Dec 2025 12:30:08 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro said on Sunday he could abandon his presidential aspirations for a “price”, and suggested amnesty be granted to his father, the imprisoned far-right former leader Jair Bolsonaro. The ex-president’s eldest son announced on Friday that his father, who is serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup and is banned from public office, has chosen him to lead the country’s powerful conservative movement, shaking up the 2026 election race. But suddenly Flavio... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3335542/bolsonaros-son-says-he-could-drop-his-brazil-presidency-bid-price?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3335542/bolsonaros-son-says-he-could-drop-his-brazil-presidency-bid-price?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 07 Dec 2025 22:34:23 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Brazil’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro to begin serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a failed coup, after he exhausted all appeals. The brash former army captain who fired up Brazil’s right and reshaped the country’s politics was ending a divisive career jailed in a small room at police headquarters equipped with a TV, mini-fridge, and air conditioning. Bolsonaro, 70, was convicted in September over a scheme to stop Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3334148/brazils-bolsonaro-begins-27-year-prison-sentence-coup-attempt?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3334148/brazils-bolsonaro-begins-27-year-prison-sentence-coup-attempt?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Nov 2025 20:44:15 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Brazil’s Supreme Court on Monday voted to uphold the imprisonment of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who was detained over the weekend for tampering with his ankle monitor using a soldering iron. Bolsonaro was taken into custody on Saturday from his home, where he had been under house arrest after a judge declared him a flight risk as he appeals a 27-year sentence for plotting a failed coup. The far-right firebrand was convicted in September over a scheme to stop President Luiz Inacio Lula da... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3334003/brazil-court-votes-uphold-bolsonaro-jailing-after-attempt-flee?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3334003/brazil-court-votes-uphold-bolsonaro-jailing-after-attempt-flee?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Nov 2025 17:26:24 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press On his first full day in jail, former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro told a judge on Sunday he had violated his ankle monitoring the day before at his house arrest because of a nervous breakdown and hallucinations caused by a change in his medication. Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the 70-year-old leader’s pre-emptive jailing on Saturday for he is considered a flight risk. Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years in prison in September for attempting a coup to remain in the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3333835/brazils-bolsonaro-damages-ankle-monitor-soldering-iron-out-curiosity?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3333835/brazils-bolsonaro-damages-ankle-monitor-soldering-iron-out-curiosity?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 23 Nov 2025 07:09:39 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered the pre-emptive arrest of former President Jair Bolsonaro on Saturday, with a judge claiming he was intent on escaping just days before he was set to begin his 27-year prison sentence for leading a coup attempt. The 70-year-old politician was taken to the headquarters of the country’s federal police in the capital, Brasilia, from his house arrest. Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversaw the case, said in his ruling that Bolsonaro’s ankle monitor,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3333797/ex-brazil-president-jair-bolsonaro-arrested-27-year-sentence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3333797/ex-brazil-president-jair-bolsonaro-arrested-27-year-sentence?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 Nov 2025 11:03:02 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Brazil’s far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro is running out of options to avoid prison, after judges on Friday rejected his appeal against a 27-year sentence for a botched coup bid. Bolsonaro lost the 2022 elections and was convicted in September for his efforts to prevent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking power after the polls. Prosecutors said the scheme – which included plans to assassinate Lula and a top Supreme Court judge – failed only due to a lack of support from... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3332918/brazils-bolsonaro-faces-imminent-arrest-judges-uphold-coup-plot-verdict?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3332918/brazils-bolsonaro-faces-imminent-arrest-judges-uphold-coup-plot-verdict?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 15 Nov 2025 07:41:50 +0000 Reuters Reuters The Republican-led US Senate passed legislation on Tuesday that would overturn President Donald Trump’s tariffs against Brazil by terminating the national emergency he declared in July in retaliation for Brazil’s prosecution of its former president, Jair Bolsonaro, for an alleged coup attempt. In the first of three tariff bills expected in the Senate this week, lawmakers approved the Brazil measure 52-48, with five Republicans crossing partisan lines to back the legislation. Legislative measures... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3330696/us-senate-passes-bill-end-trump-tariffs-against-brazil?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3330696/us-senate-passes-bill-end-trump-tariffs-against-brazil?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Oct 2025 23:48:27 +0000 Reuters Reuters Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and US President Donald Trump agreed to meet in person soon after a friendly video call on Monday, Brazil’s government said, boosting prospects for a thaw in bilateral relations that are at their worst in decades. During the leaders’ 30-minute call, Lula’s office said in a statement that he and Trump discussed their positive impressions of a brief encounter at the United Nations last month and exchanged phone numbers to open a direct line of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3328060/lula-asks-trump-scrap-tariffs-leaders-agree-meet-after-friendly-call?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3328060/lula-asks-trump-scrap-tariffs-leaders-agree-meet-after-friendly-call?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Oct 2025 22:14:51 +0000 Reuters Reuters The US on Monday imposed sanctions on the wife of the Brazilian judge who presided over the criminal case of right-wing former president Jair Bolsonaro and also yanked the visas of six high-ranking officials, as a months-long showdown between the Trump administration and the Brazilian government escalates. Widening the penalties targeting Brazil’s judiciary, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on Viviane Barci de Moraes, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, under... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3326446/us-targets-wife-brazilian-supreme-court-justice-moraes-sanctions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3326446/us-targets-wife-brazilian-supreme-court-justice-moraes-sanctions?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Sep 2025 19:19:50 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Brazilians held protests in all 26 states and the Federal District on Sunday against a possible pardon for former president Jair Bolsonaro and his allies, who were convicted of attempting a coup. Calls for demonstrations grew after the lower house on Tuesday passed a constitutional amendment that would make it harder to arrest or launch criminal proceedings against lawmakers. The measure now heads to the Senate. The following day the lower house voted to fast track a bill backed by right-wing... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3326319/brazilians-protest-against-bill-could-lead-pardon-bolsonaro-and-allies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3326319/brazilians-protest-against-bill-could-lead-pardon-bolsonaro-and-allies?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Sep 2025 19:00:33 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro, convicted last week of leading an attempted coup, has been diagnosed with skin cancer, his doctor said on Wednesday. The announcement came as the beleaguered far-right leader, 70, was discharged from a hospital in the capital, Brasilia, where he was rushed under prison guard on Tuesday after suffering violent bouts of hiccups, vomiting and low blood pressure. Bolsonaro has had multiple health issues and operations in recent years due to complications... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3325920/brazils-bolsonaro-diagnosed-skin-cancer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3325920/brazils-bolsonaro-diagnosed-skin-cancer?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Sep 2025 17:38:23 +0000 Reuters Reuters Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced on Thursday to 27 years and three months in prison, hours after being convicted of plotting a coup to remain in power after losing the 2022 election. The ruling dealt a powerful rebuke to one of the world’s most prominent far-right populist leaders. The conviction ruling by a panel of five justices on Brazil’s Supreme Court, who also agreed on the sentence, made the 70-year-old Bolsonaro the first former president in the country’s history... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3325257/brazils-bolsonaro-convicted-top-court-historic-coup-trial?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3325257/brazils-bolsonaro-convicted-top-court-historic-coup-trial?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Sep 2025 19:05:58 +0000 Reuters Reuters Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Luiz Fux voted on Wednesday to acquit former president Jair Bolsonaro of forming a criminal organisation and voted to annul his trial over jurisdiction, breaking with peers and raising the odds of an appeal after the final verdict this week. The high court still seems likely to convict Bolsonaro of plotting a coup to remain in power after he was voted out of office in 2022. Two judges on the five-judge panel have already voted to convict, and the remaining two... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3325105/brazil-judge-votes-acquit-bolsonaro-coup-case-breaking-peers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3325105/brazil-judge-votes-acquit-bolsonaro-coup-case-breaking-peers?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Sep 2025 21:53:33 +0000 Reuters Reuters Two Brazilian Supreme Court justices on Tuesday voted to convict former president Jair Bolsonaro of leading a criminal conspiracy to overturn the 2022 election, as they cast the first votes in the final phase of the ex-president’s trial. The five-judge panel is now one vote away from a majority convicting Bolsonaro of orchestrating an attempted coup to remain in power after his 2022 electoral defeat to leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The charges stem from a federal police... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3324956/first-5-judges-bolsonaro-coup-trial-votes-convict?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3324956/first-5-judges-bolsonaro-coup-trial-votes-convict?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Sep 2025 20:06:58 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Brazil’s Supreme Court vowed Tuesday not to bend to pressure from Washington in deciding the fate of far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro, a Donald Trump ally on trial for allegedly plotting a coup. Kicking off a five-day process of passing judgment in the final stage of the trial, presiding judge Alexandre Moraes said Bolsonaro had aimed to install a “real dictatorship”. Bolsonaro, 70, risks a prison sentence of 43 years if convicted of conspiring to cling to power after losing 2022... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3324111/brazil-judge-opens-bolsonaro-trial-vowing-defy-trump-threats?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3324111/brazil-judge-opens-bolsonaro-trial-vowing-defy-trump-threats?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Sep 2025 20:30:02 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Brazil’s political right is united in its defence of firebrand ex-president Jair Bolsonaro. If he is convicted in the coming days for an alleged coup attempt, however, the unity of his once powerful movement is far from certain, with elections due next year. The former army captain is accused of conspiring to stay in power after his electoral defeat to leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2022. A conviction in court - with a verdict due any time from Tuesday - could send the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3323869/coup-trial-verdict-bolsonaro-threatens-fracture-brazils-right?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3323869/coup-trial-verdict-bolsonaro-threatens-fracture-brazils-right?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Sep 2025 04:54:06 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A Brazilian judge on Tuesday declared far right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, who is under house arrest while awaiting the verdict in his coup-plotting trial, a “flight risk” and placed him under round-the-clock watch. Bolsonaro faces 40 years in prison if convicted of plotting to cling onto power after losing the 2022 elections to left-winger Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The verdict in the case is expected early next month. Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is presiding over the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3323261/brazilian-judge-sends-more-police-jair-bolsonaros-home-over-flight-risk-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3323261/brazilian-judge-sends-more-police-jair-bolsonaros-home-over-flight-risk-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Aug 2025 22:51:25 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Brazil’s ex-president Jair Bolsonaro left his home where he is under house arrest to undergo medical exams on Saturday, weeks before the Supreme Court rules whether he is guilty of plotting a coup. The right-wing firebrand is accused of attempting to hold onto power despite his 2022 electoral defeat by current leftist leader, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Bolsonaro, 70, has been under house arrest since early August for violating a judicial ban on using social networks to plead his case to the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3322110/brazils-bolsonaro-leaves-house-arrest-medical-exams?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3322110/brazils-bolsonaro-leaves-house-arrest-medical-exams?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 Aug 2025 21:55:04 +0000 Reuters Reuters Brazil’s Supreme Court put former president Jair Bolsonaro under house arrest on Monday ahead of his trial for an alleged coup plot, underscoring the court’s resolve despite escalating tariffs and sanctions from US President Donald Trump. Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, the target of US Treasury sanctions last week, issued the arrest order against Bolsonaro. His decision cited a failure to comply with restraining orders he had imposed on Bolsonaro for allegedly courting Trump’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3320744/brazils-supreme-court-orders-house-arrest-former-president-jair-bolsonaro?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3320744/brazils-supreme-court-orders-house-arrest-former-president-jair-bolsonaro?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Aug 2025 23:37:39 +0000 Reuters Reuters The United States imposed sanctions on Brazilian Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes on Wednesday, accusing him of authorising arbitrary pre-trial detentions and suppressing freedom of expression. Moraes is overseeing the criminal case against former president Jair Bolsonaro, who has been charged with plotting a coup. US President Donald Trump has tied new tariffs on Brazil to what he called a “witch hunt” against his right-wing ally. The announcement by the US Treasury Department... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3320192/us-imposes-sanctions-brazilian-high-court-judge-alexandre-de-moraes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3320192/us-imposes-sanctions-brazilian-high-court-judge-alexandre-de-moraes?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 30 Jul 2025 17:26:55 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Brazilian police raided Jair Bolsonaro’s home on Friday, as a judge imposed further restrictions on the far-right former leader while he stands trial on coup charges that have vexed US President and ally Donald Trump. His son Eduardo Bolsonaro, a congressman who recently moved to the United States to lobby for his father, wrote on social media that federal police carried out a “raid on my father’s home this morning”. He lashed out at Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes, a Bolsonaro adversary... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3318838/brazil-police-raid-bolsonaros-home-us-revokes-judges-visa-amid-trump-lula-feud?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3318838/brazil-police-raid-bolsonaros-home-us-revokes-judges-visa-amid-trump-lula-feud?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Jul 2025 03:45:42 +0000 Reuters Reuters Brazil’s Supreme Court issued search warrants and restraining orders against former president Jair Bolsonaro on Friday, banning him from contacting foreign officials for allegedly courting the interference of US President Donald Trump. Federal police raided Bolsonaro’s home and he was ordered to wear an ankle monitor, adding the legal pressure that Trump has tried to relieve with a steep tariff on Brazilian goods. The court’s crackdown on Bolsonaro added to signs that Trump’s tactics could... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3318805/brazil-police-search-ex-president-bolsonaros-home-political-headquarters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3318805/brazil-police-search-ex-president-bolsonaros-home-political-headquarters?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Jul 2025 12:37:54 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Former president Jair Bolsonaro said Sunday he was prepared to “change Brazil’s destiny” as he addressed thousands of supporters in Sao Paulo, even while facing decades in prison for allegedly attempting a coup. The divisive far-right figure called for the demonstration on a major thoroughfare of South America’s largest metropolis, seeking “justice” as he battles the charges. “Those who accuse me may have many trump cards up their sleeves, but I have three things on my side that they don’t have:... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3316301/facing-possible-prison-brazils-ex-president-bolsonaro-seeks-rally-faithful?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3316301/facing-possible-prison-brazils-ex-president-bolsonaro-seeks-rally-faithful?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 29 Jun 2025 20:24:51 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Brazil’s far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro was airlifted to a hospital after suffering a painful bowel obstruction on Friday that forced him to abandon a political tour – his latest health complication six years after being stabbed in the stomach. The 70-year-old, who is seeking to make a political comeback even as he faces a criminal trial, started feeling “unbearable abdominal pain” at a political event on Friday in the northeastern state of Rio Grande do Norte, a senior member of his... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3306272/brazils-bolsonaro-hospitalised-abdominal-pain-stable-condition?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3306272/brazils-bolsonaro-hospitalised-abdominal-pain-stable-condition?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Apr 2025 05:40:14 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Brazil’s Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro to stand trial on charges of plotting a coup, in a case that could torpedo his hopes of making a Donald Trump-style political comeback. The trial would be the first of an ex-leader accused of attempting to take power by force since Brazil’s return to democracy in 1985 following two decades of military dictatorship. A five-judge panel of the Supreme Court voted unanimously to put Bolsonaro on trial after finding... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3304036/brazils-bolsonaro-ordered-stand-trial-attempted-coup?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3304036/brazils-bolsonaro-ordered-stand-trial-attempted-coup?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Mar 2025 23:25:52 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Brazil’s prosecutor-general on Tuesday formally charged former president Jair Bolsonaro with attempting a coup to stay in office after his 2022 election defeat, in a plot that included a plan to poison his successor and current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and kill a Supreme Court judge. Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet alleged that Bolsonaro and 33 others participated in a plan to remain in power. The alleged plot, he wrote, included a plan to poison Lula and shoot dead Supreme Court... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3299240/brazils-bolsonaro-charged-coup-plot-included-plan-poison-lula?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3299240/brazils-bolsonaro-charged-coup-plot-included-plan-poison-lula?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Feb 2025 03:33:18 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Brazilian ex-president Jair Bolsonaro “actively participated” in a 2022 coup plot to prevent his successor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, from taking office, police alleged in a report made public Tuesday. Bolsonaro was also “fully aware” of an alleged plan by elite soldiers to assassinate Lula, his vice-president and a Supreme Court judge, said the report, which has been handed to Brazil’s attorney general. Attorney General Paulo Gonet is examining these explosive allegations to see if evidence... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3288267/brazils-bolsonaro-actively-took-part-2022-coup-plot-against-lula-police-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3288267/brazils-bolsonaro-actively-took-part-2022-coup-plot-against-lula-police-say?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Nov 2024 21:53:37 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Brazil’s federal police said Thursday they indicted former President Jair Bolsonaro and 36 other people for allegedly attempting a coup to keep him in office after his defeat in the 2022 elections. Police said their sealed findings were being delivered Thursday to Brazil’s Supreme Court, which will refer them to Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet, who decides either to formally charge Bolsonaro and put him on trial, or toss the investigation. Bolsonaro told the website Metropoles that he was waiting... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3287643/brazil-police-indict-former-president-bolsonaro-and-aides-over-alleged-2022-coup-attempt?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3287643/brazil-police-indict-former-president-bolsonaro-and-aides-over-alleged-2022-coup-attempt?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 Nov 2024 03:56:25 +0000 Reuters Reuters Brazilian police on Tuesday arrested five people, including a member of former President Jair Bolsonaro’s government, suspected of involvement in an alleged plan to kill then president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his vice-president in 2022 days before they took office, police said. Earlier reports stated that among the four people arrested on Tuesday were four soldiers guarding the ongoing G20 summit. Federal police sources aide said those arrested “were participating in the security... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3287273/brazilian-police-arrest-5-alleged-plot-kill-president-lula-and-stage-coup?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3287273/brazilian-police-arrest-5-alleged-plot-kill-president-lula-and-stage-coup?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Nov 2024 12:20:58 +0000 Reuters Reuters Brazilian far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro at a rally of conservative supporters on Saturday said the right was gaining ground internationally, in Italy and France, and said he hoped that former US president Donald Trump will be returned to the White House this year. “God willing, it will be Trump in November,” he told a cheering crowd of 3,500 supporters at the CPAC Brasil 2024 event at the beach resort of Balneario Camboriu in Southern Brazil. The event was intended to drum up support... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3269476/2024-us-presidential-election-brazils-bolsonaro-hopes-trumps-white-house-comeback?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3269476/2024-us-presidential-election-brazils-bolsonaro-hopes-trumps-white-house-comeback?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 07 Jul 2024 03:30:14 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Brazil’s Federal Police have indicted former president Jair Bolsonaro for money laundering and criminal association in connection with undeclared diamonds the far-right leader received from Saudi Arabia during his time in office, according to a source with knowledge of the accusations. A second source confirmed the indictment, although not for which specific crimes. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly. Brazil’s Supreme Court has yet... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3269230/brazilian-police-indict-jair-bolsonaro-undeclared-saudi-diamonds-case?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3269230/brazilian-police-indict-jair-bolsonaro-undeclared-saudi-diamonds-case?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Jul 2024 23:27:44 +0000 Reuters Reuters Brazil’s far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro stayed for two nights at the Hungarian embassy in Brasilia last month, just days after federal police confiscated his passport and arrested two former aides on suspicion of plotting a coup, Bolsonaro’s lawyer said on Monday. Bolsonaro’s February 12-14 stay at the Hungarian embassy was first reported by The New York Times newspaper based on security camera footage from inside the embassy. The episode raises questions about the former president’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3256699/brazils-bolsonaro-stayed-2-days-hungarian-embassy-after-passport-seized?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3256699/brazils-bolsonaro-stayed-2-days-hungarian-embassy-after-passport-seized?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Mar 2024 22:59:20 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Brazil’s federal police have accused former president Jair Bolsonaro of criminal association and falsifying his own Covid-19 vaccination data, marking the first indictment for the embattled far-right leader with others potentially in store. The Supreme Court released the police’s indictment on Tuesday that alleged Bolsonaro and 16 others inserted false information into the public health database to make it appear as though the then-president, his 12-year-old daughter and several others in his... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3255989/brazils-ex-president-jair-bolsonaro-indicted-over-alleged-falsification-his-own-vaccination-data?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3255989/brazils-ex-president-jair-bolsonaro-indicted-over-alleged-falsification-his-own-vaccination-data?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Mar 2024 13:50:11 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Thousands of Brazilians poured into the streets of Sao Paulo on Sunday as ex-president Jair Bolsonaro flexed his political muscle and hit out at an election ban that has seen him barred from seeking office for eight years. Addressing a massive crowd of supporters in the economic capital, Bolsonaro again denied charges he plotted a coup to stay in power after losing an election in October 2022. “What is a coup? Tanks in the streets, weapons, conspiracy. None of that happened in Brazil,” said... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3253167/brazils-bolsonaro-gathers-supporters-show-strength-amid-coup-investigation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3253167/brazils-bolsonaro-gathers-supporters-show-strength-amid-coup-investigation?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 25 Feb 2024 17:37:26 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Brazilian police are investigating several top allies of former President Jair Bolsonaro for allegedly trying to overturn the results of the 2022 election and searched their homes and offices on Thursday. Bolsonaro was not the target of a search but, like others, was ordered to forfeit his passport, according to a decision by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes made public on Thursday. The subjects of the 33 searches police planned to conduct included Bolsonaro’s 2022 running mate, General... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3251457/brazil-police-investigate-ex-president-bolsonaros-allies-over-alleged-coup-attempt?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3251457/brazil-police-investigate-ex-president-bolsonaros-allies-over-alleged-coup-attempt?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Feb 2024 16:24:22 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press A panel of judges voted on Friday to render Brazil’s far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro ineligible to run for office again after concluding that he abused his power and cast unfounded doubts on the country’s electronic voting system. The decision, once voting of all judges concludes, will forbid Bolsonaro from running until 2030, upending the 68-year-old’s political future and likely erasing any chance for him to regain power. Four of the seven judges on the nation’s highest electoral... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3226196/brazil-court-votes-bar-former-pm-jair-bolsonaro-elections-until-2030?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3226196/brazil-court-votes-bar-former-pm-jair-bolsonaro-elections-until-2030?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Jun 2023 17:39:45 +0000