Thousands of Brazilians pour into the streets of Sao Paulo after ex-President Bolsonaro called for show of support amid claims he plotted a coup to stay in power after election defeat

Thousands of Brazilians poured into the streets of Sao Paulo on Sunday after ex-president Jair Bolsonaro called for a show of support as he is accused of plotting a coup to stay in power.

Dressed in the green and yellow of the Brazilian flag, which Bolsonaro claimed as a symbol during his time in office, an immense crowd of his supporters thronged Paulista Avenue, one of the main thoroughfares in the country’s economic capital.

Bolsonaro arrived waving the Israeli flag – a repudiation of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s comments comparing Israel’s offensive in Gaza to the Holocaust – before placing his hand on his chest for the national anthem.

The 68-year-old former army officer had urged his supporters to attend a ‘peaceful meeting in defense of the democratic constitutional state’.

Bolsonaro has had his passport confiscated by police as he and his inner circle face scrutiny over plans to stay in power after losing the 2022 election to Lula.

Supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro attend a rally in Sao Paulo

Bolsonaro and some of his former top aides are under investigation over allegations that they plotted a coup to oust his successor, Luis Inacio Lula da Silva.

A huge crowd of his supporters thronged Paulista Avenue, one of the city’s main streets

The far-right former president has denied the allegations and refused to answer questions during a half-hour interrogation at federal police headquarters in the city of Brasilia on Thursday.

“Bolsonaro is an honest person, a victim of persecution,” said 63-year-old builder Wilson Aseka, who traveled 700 kilometers from Minas Gerais state to attend the protest.

“It is important to support him because he represents God, country and family,” he added, repeating the former president’s motto with a Brazilian flag on his shoulders.

A week after Lula came to power on January 1, 2023, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed the presidential palace, Congress and the Supreme Court, urging the military to intervene to overturn what they called a stolen election .

Bolsonaro, who was in the United States at the time, denies responsibility and has even suggested that the protesters were not actually his supporters.

However, investigators allege that Bolsonaro has carried out months of anti-democratic maneuvers, from a plan to discredit Brazil’s electronic voting system to a pre-election “disinformation” campaign to “legitimize a military intervention” if he loses.

His supporters reject claims that he plotted a coup with allies to stay in power after his failed 2022 re-election bid

A week after Lula came to power on January 1, 2023, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed the presidential palace, Congress and the Supreme Court, urging the military to intervene to overturn what they called a stolen election .

Bolsonaro called on his supporters to take to the streets of Sao Paulo as the former head of state is investigated in connection with the 2023 coup attempt.

He faces several other investigations, such as the falsification of COVID-19 vaccination certificates

Bolsonaro, who led Brazil from 2019 to 2022, claims he is a victim of ‘persecution’

Police say Bolsonaro amended a draft presidential decree that would have declared a state of emergency, called new elections and ordered the arrest of Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, the head of Brazil’s Superior Electoral Tribunal.

They also released a video of a meeting in July 2022 where a shouting, swearing Bolsonaro ordered ministers to help him discredit the electoral system.

Bolsonaro, who led Brazil from 2019 to 2022, claims he is the victim of ‘persecution’.

He faces several other investigations, such as the forgery of COVID-19 vaccination certificates, or the alleged embezzlement of gifts received from other countries, such as jewelry offered by Saudi Arabia.

In June, the electoral tribunal banned Bolsonaro from standing as a candidate until 2030 because of his attacks on the electoral system.

Bolsonaro is still considered the leader of the opposition and adored by his fervent supporters

The protest on Sunday afternoon is seen as a litmus test of his support ahead of October’s municipal elections

The far-right former president has denied allegations of an attempted coup

Nevertheless, Bolsonaro is still considered the leader of the opposition and adored by his fervent supporters.

The protest on Sunday afternoon is seen as a litmus test of his support ahead of October’s municipal elections, in which his influence is expected to play a key role in the still-polarized country.

‘If there is a lot of support, he will be able to say that the people are behind him. Otherwise he will lose all legitimacy,” Andre Rosa, a political scientist at the University of Brasilia, told AFP.

One of Bolsonaro’s lawyers, Fabio Wajngarten, said on Thursday he hoped to see “500,000 to 700,000” demonstrators.

‘I’m going there, for Brazil. It’s going to be huge!’ a lawmaker from Bolsonaro’s party, Bia Kicis, wrote on X.