Star Metro - Facing possible prison, Bolsonaro seeks to rally faithful

"Brazil needs all of us. It's for freedom, for justice," the far-right former president (2019-2022) said on X, urging his supporters to march along Sao Paulo's Paulista Avenue, a key thoroughfare of Latin America's largest metropolis.

"This is a call for us to show strength... this massive presence will give us courage," he declared Saturday night on the AuriVerde Brasil YouTube channel.

The demonstration -- which already had drawn crowds of Bolsonaro supporters by mid-morning Sunday -- follows a hectic several weeks for the embattled ex-leader.

During a key phase in his Supreme Court trial earlier this month, he denied involvement in an alleged coup plot to wrest back power after leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva narrowly beat Bolsonaro at the ballot box in October 2022.

Brazil's police have also called for Bolsonaro to be separately charged with illegal espionage while president, along with his son.

Bolsonaro, 70, has rejected any wrongdoing, claiming the various cases against him amount to politically motivated judicial hounding, aimed at preventing him from making a comeback in the 2026 elections.

The former army captain dreams of emulating Donald Trump's return to the White House, despite being banned from holding public office until 2030 over his attacks on Brazil's electronic voting system.

Bolsonaro had already called for several protests throughout his legal saga, but attendance appears to have declined in recent months.

According to estimates by the University of Sao Paulo, some 45,000 people participated in the most recent march on Paulista Avenue in April, almost four times fewer than in February.

Sao Paulo Governor Tarcisio de Freitas said he would attend the march and urged others to join.

"We need to talk about freedom... we are going to promote peace."

De Freitas, a former Bolsonaro minister, is a top candidate to represent the conservatives in the 2026 presidential election.

O.Ouellet--SMC