Bolsonaro blasts election ban as 'denial of democracy'

Bolsonaro slams re-election ban at rally, calls it a 'denial of democracy'

RIO DE JANEIRO:

Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is accused of backing an attempted coup, told a demonstration in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday that a ban on him seeking re-election next year amounted to a "denial of democracy."

Several thousand supporters of the far-right firebrand lined Rio's famous Copacabana beach to show support for Brazil's 2019-2022 leader, who stands accused of attempting to overthrow his left-wing successor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The 69-year-old has been attempting to position himself as a leading contender in elections next year, despite being barred from holding elected office until 2030.

"I want to tell all those who don't like me in Brasilia (Brazil's capital): elections without Bolsonaro is a denial of democracy in Brazil," he said.

Bolsonaro hopes to emulate US President Donald Trump by making a stunning political comeback despite facing multiple legal charges.

"They are trying to throw him in prison, in a cowardly fashion, so he can't be elected, but they won't succeed," Patricia Santos, a 41-year-old attending the rally, told AFP.

Jose de Souza Vitorino, 64, a former military officer like Bolsonaro, said he came to the rally because he wanted "to leave a better Brazil for my children."

Bolsonaro had called for a "million" supporters to gather on Sunday, but an AFP photographer said the rally was smaller than a similar event at the same location a year ago.

The protest was officially called to demand amnesty for hundreds convicted over the January 8, 2023 riots in Brasilia, when Bolsonaro backers stormed the presidential palace, Congress and Supreme Court.

The rioters demanded that the military oust Lula, who had defeated Bolsonaro, his archrival, in October 2022 elections and had been sworn in just a week earlier.

The rampage evoked the January 2021 storming of the Capitol building in Washington by Trump supporters, most of whom the US president has since pardoned. Bolsonaro was in the United States during the Brasilia riots but prosecutors believe they were part of a coup plot approved by the former army captain. AFP