'Our democracy is more solid than American': Brazilians celebrate Bolsonaro's 27-year prison sentence - Video
Crowds poured into the streets of Rio de Janeiro on Friday, September 12, to celebrate the jailing of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who was sentenced to more than 27 years in prison for attempting to stage a coup following his 2022 election defeat.
In Cinelândia Square, demonstrators sang, danced, and waved signs reading “Justice” and “Never Again.” Some carried effigies of Bolsonaro in prison stripes, while others mocked his ties to former U.S. president Donald Trump by yanking at the tie of a Trump lookalike.
“This is a victory for democracy,” one demonstrator said.
Claudia, holding a placard, turned her message outward: “The message I send to Trump is that Brazilian democracy is doing very well, thank you. And it is much better, much more solid than American democracy.”
The celebrations followed Thursday’s landmark ruling from Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court, which sentenced Bolsonaro to 27 years and three months behind bars. Judges found the former leader guilty of orchestrating a plot to annul the 2022 election results, dissolve the courts, empower the military, and even target president-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The ruling marks the first time in Brazil’s history that a former head of state has been convicted for attempting a coup, a decision many protesters described as long-overdue justice.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
