Dozens of audios reveal high-ranking Brazilian officers pressured Bolsonaro to stage a coup

A trove of leaked audio recordings from late 2022 reveal high-ranking members of Brazil’s army discussing efforts to pressure then-President Jair Bolsonaro to carry out a coup and remain in power.

The 53 audios, obtained by the Federal Police and accessed by The Associated Press on Monday, provide a rare chance to hear military members expressing in their own voices their desire to keep leftist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva from taking office.

Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversees the police’s sprawling investigation, quoted some of those audios in his ruling last week ordering the arrest of five people for plotting the assassination of then-President-elect Lula in 2022 and then attempting to oust him from power on Jan. 8, 2023, when Bolsonaro supporters destroyed government buildings in the capital Brasilia.

Audios from one former army officer — who was not among those de Moraes ordered arrested last week — are particularly supportive of a coup, and weren’t referenced in de Moraes’ order.

Col. Roberto Raimundo Criscuoli, a former subcommander of the army’s special forces, told retired Brig. Gen. Mario Fernandes, who was then second in command at the general secretary of the presidency, that the far-right leader had a clear choice after Lula won his third, non-consecutive term.

“It will be either a civil war now or civil war later. We have a justification now for civil war; people are on the streets, we have massive support,” Criscuoli said in one of the audios. “Let’s do this now. Speak to 01.”

01 is a common reference to Brazil’s president.

Neither the former president nor his ministers are heard speaking in the recordings. The audios are not directly related to the Nov. 21 formal accusation by Brazil’s police that Bolsonaro and 36 others attempted to stage a coup.

The Brazilian army did not respond to a request for comment about the Federal Police investigation.

Bolsonaro frequently cast doubt on the election results without providing any evidence and never conceded. He left for the United States days before Lula’s inauguration on Jan. 1, 2023 and stayed there for months, keeping a low profile. The top electoral court has ruled Bolsonaro ineligible to run for president until 2030 for abuse of power, and he is also the target of several investigations for a slew of potential crimes.

Other audios are less explicit in their wording about the urgent need for a coup. In a voice message to Gen. Fernandes, Col. Reginaldo Vieira de Abreu used an expression frequently repeated by Bolsonaro to argue the country’s constitution should be ignored.

“We are at war, they are winning. It is almost over and they haven’t fired a single shot. It is because of our incompetence,” he said.

In an audio from Dec. 8, Bolsonaro’s aide-de-camp, Lt. Col. Mauro Cid, is heard telling Gen. Fernandes that time was running out to keep his boss in office.

“On the 12th… It would have to be before the 12th, right?” Cid said, referencing the day that the electoral court would certify Lula’s victory. “I will speak to the president. The thing is his personality sometimes. He waits, waits, waits, waits to see where it is going. To see who supports him. But sometimes time is short, right? We can’t wait much longer.”

De Moraes’ arrest order last week makes reference to Cid’s comment, but it did not include his full statement.

Cid was already under house arrest, after having signed a plea bargain deal with authorities last year. His testimony has helped authorities collect evidence in different cases targeting Bolsonaro and some of his key aides, including Walter Braga Netto, Bolsonaro’s chief of staff and running mate for reelection.

In the audios, Gen. Fernandes, who was among those de Moraes ordered arrested last week, repeatedly claimed Brazil’s presidential election had been rigged for Lula and insisted the military high command should be pressured to aid Bolsonaro’s cause before his leftist rival assumed power.

“Any solution, you know, will not happen without breaking eggs,” he said. “We have to go for it. We have popular support.”

Thousands of Bolsonaro followers camped outside army facilities to pressure military leaders to side with the then-president. Media reports at the time said there was not enough support in the high command for a coup. Bolsonaro supporters only returned home after the Jan. 8 riot, upon orders from the newly installed army commander.