On Thursday, the Supreme Court of Brazil convicted Jair Bolsonaro , the former president, for attempting a coup to hold onto power after losing elections in October 2022, and sentenced him to prison for 27 years and three months. The trial and the conviction of Bolsonaro and several members of his inner circle—mostly former military officers like him—is the first time a Brazilian president was convicted of a coup attempt.

The trial was accompanied by an aggressive campaign by President Donald Trump against Brazil to help Bolsonaro, a far-right populist and former Army captain, escape justice. The trial and prosecution of Bolsonaro became a test for the independence of Brazilian judiciary, which did not buckle under domestic or international political pressure.

More than 40 years have

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