OUT IN THE OPEN

Bolsonaro Discussed Coup Attempt With Military Heads: Ex-Secretary

“I can discuss anything, I can think anything, but as long as I don’t put it into practice there’s no problem,” Bolsonaro told a political columnist recently.

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro held a meeting with the heads of his country’s army, navy and air force to discuss the ways he could pull off a potential coup after losing last year’s election, his former secretary told investigators looking into his attempt to cling to power. The claims were first reported by Brazilian outlets O Globo and UOL. The former aide, Lt. Colonel Mauro Cid, was arrested in May and held for four months on charges that he forged vaccination cards for himself and Bolsonaro in order to enter the U.S.—though he reportedly cut a deal last week with prosecutors. He said the scheme to call another snap election and jail political opponents with the help of the country’s military was brought to Bolsonaro by a foreign policy adviser and garnered the support of the country’s navy commander—but not army leaders. “I can discuss anything, I can think anything, but as long as I don’t put it into practice there’s no problem,” Bolsonaro told a columnist from O Globo recently. “A person can say, ‘Let’s rob the Central Bank.’ What they can’t do is put that into practice.”