Jair Bolsonaro’s son targets Brazilian Supreme Court justice from US getaway

RIO DE JANEIRO (CN) — Brazilian Congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro has 122 days to accomplish a mission he’s shared little about since announcing it: lobbying the U.S. government to sanction a Brazil Supreme Court justice and pardon those involved in the Jan. 8, 2023, coup attempt in Brazil, when far-right rioters stormed government buildings in Brasília.

The son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, Eduardo Bolsonaro quietly relocated to the United States with his family during Carnival and has not posted on social media since March 18, when he released a video saying he would not return to Brazil until Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes is punished.

In that video, Bolsonaro said his goal is to persuade U.S. President Donald Trump to impose sanctions on Moraes and to push for a pardon for those involved in the coup attempt. The congressman also called Moraes a “psychopath” and the “head of the Federal Police Gestapo.”

“I will not cower. I will not submit to this state of exception and its dirty tricks,” he said. Bolsonaro’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

According to Rodrigo Stumpf González, a political science professor at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, the move appeared to come more from the “inner circle” of the Bolsonaros’ than from his own far-right Liberal Party.

“It seems part of the narrative of the family portraying themselves as political victims,” he added.

Rafael R. Ioris, a professor of Latin American history and comparative politics at the University of Denver, agrees.

“Although this is a self-imposed exile, by claiming he was forced to come here, he keeps alive the narrative that Brazil is a leftist dictatorship, and that Donald Trump should pay more attention and do something about it. What exactly that something is remains a big mystery,” he said.

Unlike his father — who on March 26 became a defendant in a case over charges of attempting a coup d’état and seeking to abolish Brazil’s democratic rule of law — Bolsonaro has not been formally charged or even investigated.

Brazil’s Prosecutor General’s Office also previously opposed a request by lawmakers from the Workers’ Party — the same party as President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva — to have Bolsonaro’s passport seized and prevent him from traveling to the United States. The case was later dismissed by Brazil’s Supreme Court.

Ticking clock on leave

Bolsonaro’s 122-day unpaid leave was officially recorded on March 20 as a leave of absence for personal reasons, which allowed his alternate to temporarily assume his seat in Congress.

Gabriela Rollemberg, a lawyer, political scientist and co-founder of Brazil’s Electoral and Political Law Academy, said the leave is legally valid so long as it stays within the 125-day annual limit defined by internal congressional rules.

“He is free to act politically in seeking amnesty and advocating for some kind of sanction against the Supreme Court minister, provided it is done within the legal limits and the prerogatives of the democratic rule of law,” she said.

Rollemberg warns, however, that congressional immunity has limits.

“For parliamentary immunity to apply, statements must be made in the context of the legislative mandate. The fact that he is on leave could be considered a factor to limit that immunity,” she said. “He will need to be especially careful with what he says and does during this period to avoid allegations of breaching ethical standards or violating parliamentary protections.”

According to Guilherme Gonçalves, a professor of electoral law at the Higher School of Advocacy of the Brazilian Bar Association in Paraná and at the State University of Londrina, if there is evidence that Bolsonaro went to the United States to try to sabotage Brazilian democracy, he could face charges of sedition or betrayal of the nation’s principles. There is also the possibility of losing his congressional seat for breach of parliamentary decorum.

“It seems absolutely reasonable to interpret that someone who gives up his mandate to go abroad and seek intervention in Brazil’s democratic institutions could face allegations of breaching parliamentary decorum,” said Gonçalves, who is also a founding member of the Electoral and Political Law Academy.

Should Bolsonaro fail to return at the end of the 122-day leave period, he could lose his seat for abandoning his post — unless a formal request for political asylum is filed and accepted.

“The Brazilian constitutional framework is that we live under the rule of law in a functioning democracy. All three branches of government operate, and we have freedom of expression and of the press,” Gonçalves said. “In that context, a legal justification based on a claim for asylum is inadmissible. Responsibility would fall to the country granting asylum, but such a move has no effect within Brazil’s constitutional system.”

He added that if the congressman were to give up his residency in Brazil, he would lose the right to run for public office.

González notes that it is unprecedented for an elected official, not a political exile, to act as an “envoy abroad” engaged in domestic politics from overseas. Still, he notes that it reflects a broader trend.

“The last two national elections in Brazil show that campaigns no longer take place solely within national borders,” he said.

According to Ioris, although Eduardo Bolsonaro does have connections to figures close to Trump — including former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon — it’s clear that the U.S. president has little interest in the matter.

“He has plenty of other issues that are taking priority,” he said, noting that the American press is either unaware or simply not paying attention to Bolsonaro’s presence in the country.

“He’s not a politically relevant figure here, which makes it harder for him, because he has no platform to sustain the narrative that he’s a victim,” Ioris added.