Tens of thousands of supporters of Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro demonstrated on Sunday, on the country's Independence Day, to protest the trial in the Supreme Court, which is due to pronounce the verdict against Bolsonaro this week on charges of attempted coup, the Associated Press reported.
For his part, current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Saturday night that Brazil will not accept foreign interference in its internal affairs - an apparent comment on the criticism and sanctions imposed on the country by US President Donald Trump.
Thousands dressed in yellow and green gathered on Sunday in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and the capital Brasilia to express support for Bolsonaro, who is under house arrest pending The verdict. Their discontent was mainly directed at the Supreme Court's rapporteur, Judge Alexandre de Moraes.
Bolsonaro is on trial for an alleged coup attempt to stay in power after his 2022 election defeat by Lula da Silva. The former president denies the charges and claims he is being politically persecuted.
Some of the demonstrators carried American flags after Trump directly linked the imposition of a 50 percent tariff on Brazilian exports to the United States to the trial against Bolsonaro, which he described as a “witch hunt”. Trump also imposed sanctions on Moraes.
Several thousand supporters of Lula da Silva also demonstrated in major Brazilian cities, but in support of the Supreme Court.