The latest news about former President Jair Bolsonaro

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has claimed that he has been a victim of political persecution since leaving office a little over a year ago.

He told tens of thousands of supporters in Shimo Paulo that the coup allegations against him were a "lie".

He also called for amnesty for hundreds of his supporters convicted of attacks on public buildings.

Police are investigating whether Bolsonaro instigated a failed coup after losing the 2022 elections.

Storming the Brazilian Congress: how did we get here?
What do the Bolsonaro protesters in Brazil want?
Addressing a rally on Sunday in Brazil's largest city, the 69-year-old former president dismissed the allegations against him as politically motivated.

He said it was time to forget the past and let Brazil move on .

He also used his speech to talk about the upcoming presidential elections in 2026.

Bolsonaro has still been banned from running for the presidency for eight years for undermining Brazil's electoral system and claiming that the last election was rigged, even though there is no evidence of election fraud.

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro addresses a rally at sfimo Paulo.

Jair Bolsonaro returned to Brazil from the United States in March 2023, saying that he had nothing to fear
Huge crowds dressed in yellow and green-the colors of the Brazilian flag-gathered to hear Bolsonaro speak. Those I have spoken to say that they are here demonstrating for freedom, especially freedom of speech.

They criticize what they consider threats to put Bolsonaro in prison for "saying his opinion".

Many of his supporters at the rally repeated unproven allegations that the recent elections were rigged. He had asked them not to bring posters saying this or criticizing institutions such as the Supreme Court.

"Today everyone is afraid of being oppressed. So I think we are here to show our faces. We want Brazil for everyone, freedom for everyone".

Another participant in the March interviewed by the BBC was Roj ochrio Morgado, a 56-year-old military official. "Brazilian politicians are afraid of people on the streets, it's the only thing Brazilian politicians are afraid of," he said."

The authorities are closely watching Bolsonaro's speech for anything that could be considered incitement to riots or undermining the electoral system.

Earlier this month, the former president was forced to surrender his passport while facing an investigation over accusations that he tried to annul the results of the October 2022 elections and pressure army commanders to join a coup attempt.

After he lost the poll to the left - wing Luiz in Ushio Lula da Silva, thousands of his supporters stormed government buildings in the capital Brasilia - including the presidential palace, the Supreme Court and the Congress-looting and vandalizing buildings.

Since then, three of Bolsonaro's allies have been arrested, as has the head of his political party.

The police accuse them of spreading doubts about the electoral system, which has become a rallying cry for his supporters.

The police say this paves the way for a possible coup. But when he failed to gain the support of the armed forces, his frustrated supporters stormed the Congress, the building housing the Supreme Court and the Presidential Palace, on January 8 last year.

Bolsonaro was in the United States when the attack on Congress took place. He returned to Brazil in March 2023, saying that he had nothing to fear.

.