Ex-Army Commander Confirms Bolsonaro Proposed Coup Post-2022 Election

The former head of the Brazilian Army, General Marco Antônio Freire Gomes, has confirmed in testimony that then-President Jair Bolsonaro proposed an attempted coup to reverse the results of the 2022 Brazil election, which would have prevented the inauguration of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The general’s deposition, which was given to the Federal Police as part of a Supreme Federal Court (STF) investigation, provides definitive public confirmation that Bolsonaro and his inner circle prepared and presented a draft decree that included measures to interfere with the democratic process after his electoral defeat. The revelation, along with corroborating testimony from other top military figures, highlights the extent of the political risk faced by Brazil’s democracy in the transition of power.

General Freire Gomes, who served as Army Commander under Bolsonaro, stated that the draft decree involved declaring a state of defense and creating a commission to investigate the "legality of the electoral process," a clear attempt to annul the vote. Crucially, the general testified that he explicitly warned the former president that the Army would not support any "act of institutional rupture" and that the proposal could expose him to criminal liability. The former Air Force Commander, Lieutenant-Brigadier Carlos de Almeida Baptista Júnior, provided a similar account, confirming the existence of the "golpista" (coup-plotting) decree drafts and stating that he walked out of one meeting after refusing to take the document. The Air Force chief further recalled that the Army's refusal was so forceful that General Freire Gomes threatened to arrest the then-president if he attempted to proceed with the coup plan.

The testimony, which was released by the Supreme Court, marks the first direct, high-level military confirmation of Bolsonaro’s active involvement in planning a move to stay in power. The ability of Brazil’s institutions to absorb this shock hinged on the non-compliance of the heads of two of the three branches of the Brazilian Armed Forces—the Army and the Air Force—who refused to lend the necessary institutional weight to the plot. Their refusal meant that the former president lacked the fundamental military support required to carry out a break with the constitutional order, ensuring the peaceful inauguration of President Lula in January 2023.

The ongoing STF investigation, led by Justice Alexandre de Moraes, has sought to determine the scope of the conspiracy to subvert the democratic result of the 2022 election. The statements by Freire Gomes and Baptista Júnior strengthen the legal case against the former president, who is already politically ineligible to run for office until 2030 for spreading electoral misinformation. As the investigation proceeds, the public will be watching for the next steps by the Supreme Federal Court, including any potential indictments against Bolsonaro and his allies based on the confirmed testimony regarding the coup plan.