Former air force chief details how he blocked Bolsonaro's coup plan
Lt Brig Carlos de Almeida Baptista Júnior says he refused a draft decree that would have kept Jair Bolsonaro in power, a decision that helped stop the attempted coup.
Former air force chief Lt Brig Carlos de Almeida Baptista Júnior has released a memoir describing his role in rejecting a draft decree that would have invalidated Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s 2022 victory and kept Jair Bolsonaro in office. The document, presented by Defence Minister Paulo Sérgio Nogueira de Oliveira six weeks after Bolsonaro’s electoral loss, was refused by Baptista Júnior, who left the meeting and declared the air force would not participate.
The coup attempt collapsed after Baptista Júnior and army commander Marco Antônio Freire Gomes declined to join, while navy commander Almir Garnier Santos and the defence minister were later sentenced. Baptista Júnior, a 65-year-old former fighter pilot, published the book titled “I Said No! - An Anti-Coup Bulwark” before the September runoff between Lula and Bolsonaro’s son Flávio, stressing the need for vigilance. He acknowledges personal costs, including being labeled a “traitor,” and warns that some active-duty officers still entertain coup ideas. Experts note the conviction of senior officers as a positive step but caution that coup-supporting elements remain within the military.
Why it matters
The account shows how senior military leaders prevented a constitutional crisis and highlights ongoing risks to Brazil's democracy.
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