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SAO PAULO: Thousands of Brazilians protested in all 26 states and the federal district Sunday against a possible pardon for former President Jair Bolsonaro and his allies, who were convicted of attempting a coup.
Calls for demonstrations grew after the lower house Tuesday passed a constitutional amendment that would make it harder to arrest or launch criminal proceedings against lawmakers. The measure now heads to the Senate.
The following day the lower house voted to fast-track a bill backed by right-wing opposition lawmakers that could grant amnesty to Bolsonaro, his closest allies and hundreds of supporters convicted of their roles in the January 2023 uprising.
In São Paulo, 42,400 people joined the protest, while 41,800 turned out in Rio de Janeiro, according to estimates by the University of São Paulo’s Monitor of Political Debate and the nonprofit More in Common.
Pablo Ortellado, director of the Monitor of Political Debate, told The Associated Press the numbers in Brazil’s two largest cities were the highest for a left-wing demonstration since President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s 2022 electoral victory. Researchers estimated crowd sizes using drone photos.
“Right-wing mobilizations have typically been three times larger than those of the left,” Ortellado said. “In recent months, that pattern has changed. The opposition’s support for (US President Donald) Trump’s tariffs and for the amendment has brought the left back to the streets.”
Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison on Sept. 11 for attempting to stay in power after losing a 2022 reelection bid. He is the first former president convicted of trying to overturn an election in Latin America’s largest economy. Bolsonaro has denied any wrongdoing.
Ana Paula Brito, a 37-year-old nanny, attended the São Paulo protest mainly to oppose a possible pardon for Bolsonaro. She said she was also outraged by the proposed amendment shielding lawmakers from prosecution.
“They (politicians) are rich, have plenty of money and keep stealing. No funds are ever released for us. That’s one more reason we’re in the streets today,” Brito said.
Some of Brazil’s most prominent artists helped organize and promote Sunday’s demonstrations.
Music legends Caetano Veloso, Chico Buarque and Gilberto Gil — who defied censorship during the military dictatorship of the 1960s — reunited in Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana neighborhood to protest.
“I was outraged by the news that many deputies voted in favor of a shielding law for themselves and their colleagues,” Veloso told Brazilian news outlet UOL in an interview published Saturday. “This, along with a proposal for amnesty for the coup plotters. I think I identified with the majority of the Brazilian population, who do not want these things to go through.”
Brazilian actor Wagner Moura attended the protest in Salvador, Bahia. Speaking to the crowd from the top of a truck, he said he was not willing to talk about the legislative proposals. Instead, he emphasized “this extraordinary moment in Brazilian democracy, which serves as an example to the entire world.”
Sunday’s protests were organized by artists and left-wing groups that have struggled to mobilize large crowds compared with the right. On Sept. 7, ahead of Bolsonaro’s Supreme Court trial, thousands of his supporters rallied in his defense.
Two weeks ago, right-wing demonstrators unfurled a huge US flag during a protest in Sao Paulo, with many thanking Trump for the sanctions against Brazil.
Trump called the trial a witch hunt, and in July announced a 50 percent tariff on Brazilian imported goods and explicitly linked the import tax to Bolsonaro’s fate. Later, the US Treasury Department placed sanctions on Supreme Court JusticeAlexandre de Moraes, who oversaw the case and is seen by Bolsonaro as a foe.
On Sunday, the left sought to counter that symbolism by unfurling a giant Brazilian flag on the same avenue. Posters, T-shirts and stickers not only rejected amnesty and expanded protections for lawmakers but also asserted national pride and defended Brazil’s sovereignty in response to Trump’s sanctions.
Polls show the country remains deeply divided over Bolsonaro.
According to a Datafolha poll released Sept. 16, 50 percent of respondents said Bolsonaro should be jailed, while 43 percent disagreed and 7 percent declined to answer. The survey interviewed 2,005 people nationwide and had a margin of error of 2 percentage points.