Brazil, 2nd day of final deliberations in trial against former Brazilian pres. Bolsonaro

5 months ago

On the second day of final deliberations in the historic trial against former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, the Supreme Court in Brasília continues to weigh evidence in a case that could redefine accountability in Brazil’s democracy. More details with our correspondent Brian Mier. teleSUR

Transcript

00:00The final deliberations in the trial against former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro

00:03move into the second day.

00:05Far-right actors are working behind the scenes to try to keep him out of jail.

00:09Our correspondent, Bramir, has more.

00:12Day two of the Brazilian Supreme Court's first working group's deliberations

00:18on the case against former President Jair Bolsonaro and seven of his cronies,

00:22including two former army generals and the former commander of the Brazilian Navy,

00:27is fully underway. All morning long, different defense lawyers have been given an hour each

00:33to summarize the key arguments of the case.

00:38Now, as this is unfolding in the Supreme Court headquarters,

00:42more action is underway in Congress, where yesterday two of the largest political parties in the country,

00:48União Brasil, which is a direct descendant from Arena, the official party of the military dictatorship,

00:53and Partida Progressista, or PP, both announce that they're leaving the governing coalition

01:00to side with Bolsonaro's liberal party and help push a bill through Congress,

01:06which, if ratified, would grant amnesty to all of the defendants in this case.

01:11This is important because it's the first time high-ranking military officials have ever been prosecuted

01:17prosecuted in Brazil for attempting a rupture of the democratic rule of law,

01:23despite all of the coups and coup attempts that have happened in the country over the last 130, 140 years.

01:29Now, off the record, some people in the Supreme Court have told journalists

01:34that they have measures in place that will prevent the amnesty from going through,

01:39even if it's ratified in Congress.

01:40But what this does promise to do is destabilize political life in Brazil for months after the verdict is delivered.

01:49The date that that is supposed to happen is September 12th.

01:53And keep in mind, the presidential elections take place next year.

01:56So regardless of the outcome, even though most people feel that Bolsonaro will be declared guilty

02:02and he'll be sentenced somewhere between 30 and 40 years,

02:05we're looking at a long period of political instability after this verdict is delivered.

Brazil, 2nd day of final deliberations in trial against former Brazilian pres. Bolsonaro

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