Bolsonaro claims he is the victim of political persecution.
His ally US President Donald Trump has branded the trial a “witch hunt” and slapped 50% tariffs on an array of Brazilian imports as retaliation.
‘Law must apply equally’
The vote by the Supreme Court’s only female judge came on the fourth day of a cliffhanger end to one of the biggest, most divisive trials in Brazil’s recent history.
“The law must apply equally to all,” Lucia told the court on Thursday, emphasising the importance of the case for Brazil’s young democracy.
The only judge so far to return a not-guilty vote, Luiz Fux, on Wednesday echoed Bolsonaro’s and Trump’s assessment that the trial was “political”.
Bolsonaro has not attended the public verdict hearings, which have gripped a nation following on TV and social media.
The former leader has instead been following the proceedings from his residence in Brasilia, where he has been under house arrest since last month.
Apart from heading a “criminal organisation,” Bolsonaro is accused of knowing of a plan to assassinate Lula, his Vice-President Geraldo Alckmin and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre Moraes, who is now presiding over the coup trial.
Bolsonaro is further accused of inciting the violent 2023 storming of the Supreme Court, presidential palace and Congress in Brasilia by hundreds of his supporters, a week after Lula was inaugurated as his successor.
The rioters called in vain for the military to oust Lula.
‘Historic reparation’
The trial has driven a deep wedge through Brazilian society, between those primarily on the left who see it as a vital test of the country’s democracy, from those mainly on the right who view it as a political show trial.
“This trial is not fair,” was the verdict of Germano Cavalcante, a 60-year-old civil engineer.
Ana Karla Oliveira, a 21-year-old systems analyst, said however she was “absolutely delighted” to see Bolsonaro on the stand.
“I will celebrate this conviction,” she said.
Fearing his conviction, Bolsonaro’s allies have been pushing Congress to pass an amnesty law to save him from prison.
Moraes was the first judge to cast his vote on Monday.
He charged that Latin America’s biggest economy, which emerged from two decades of brutal military rule in 1985, “nearly returned to dictatorship” because of Bolsonaro’s actions.
The case has led to an unprecedented crisis in relations between the United States and longtime ally Brazil.
Besides the tariffs punishment, Washington has also sanctioned Moraes and other Supreme Court judges.
– Agence France-Presse
