International
The majority of the Supreme Court rejects Bolsonaro’s appeals in the case of the coup d’état
The majority of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) of Brazil rejected on Wednesday the appeals presented by former President Jair Bolsonaro to try to remove two judges within the framework of the process in which he is accused of leading a coup plot against the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The president of the Supreme Court, Luiz Roberto Barroso, who is an instructor in the trial, rejected Bolsonaro’s request to challenge two of the magistrates and most of the judges of the high court voted in the same direction, in a telematic session.
The defense of the Brazilian far-right leader claimed that magistrates Cristiano Zanin and Flávio Dino would not be impartial in the trial, because before assuming their positions in the STF they filed judicial complaints against Bolsonaro.
Barroso was the first of the eleven Supreme Court magistrates to publish his vote on these four appeals in the court’s electronic voting system and was seconded by at least five judges, which makes the decision irreversible.
The two magistrates involved cannot vote and the rest of the judges have until midnight on Thursday to rule on the appeals presented by Bolsonaro and others involved.
According to Barroso, Bolsonaro’s new appeals have no news with respect to previous petitions that he himself has already rejected, and requests for recusal from judges are not protected in the Code of Criminal Procedure.
The majority of the Supreme Court also rejected the appeal of former minister Walter Braga Netto, a retired Army general accused of being one of the leaders of the coup plot, who requests the recusal of magistrate Alexandre de Moraes.
Braga Netto’s defense alleges that one of the charges is a plan to murder De Moraes, so this magistrate would have to challenge himself for not being able to be a judge and victim at the same time.
The First Chamber of the Supreme Court has already scheduled three extraordinary sessions for March 25 and 26 in which it will decide whether to accept the coup accusations against Bolsonaro and seven other defendants and whether to open criminal proceedings.
The complaint against Bolsonaro and his closest nucleus, filed in February by the Prosecutor’s Office, accused the former president and 33 other suspects of attempted violent abolition of the Democratic Rule of Law, armed criminal organization and coup d’état, among other crimes.
The conspiracy, according to the accusation, began after then-President Bolsonaro lost the October 2022 elections to the current president.
The coup plot would have first tried to prevent Lula’s inauguration and then led to the violent assault on the headquarters of the three powers of the State on January 8, 2023, a week after his inauguration, when thousands of ultras pressured the Army to overthrow the new Government.
International
Trump says GOP ‘learned a lot’ after democratic election wins
U.S. President Donald Trump said that he and the Republican Party “learned a lot” from the Democratic victories in Tuesday’s state and local elections. He also compared Democrats to “kamikaze pilots” over the ongoing budget standoff.
Speaking at an event with Republican senators on Wednesday, Trump described the results as an unexpected setback.
“These were very Democratic areas, but I don’t think it was good for Republicans. In fact, I don’t think it was good for anyone. But we had an interesting night and we learned a lot,” he said during remarks broadcast by the White House.
Trump agreed with pollsters that two key factors led to Republican losses in New York’s mayoral race and the gubernatorial contests in New Jersey and Virginia.
International
Bolivia’s Jeanine Áñez freed after Supreme Court annuls her conviction
Former Bolivian interim president Jeanine Áñez was released from a women’s prison in La Paz on Thursday, where she had spent more than four and a half years for an alleged coup, after her conviction was annulled, AFP journalists confirmed.
Dozens of supporters and family members gathered outside the facility to celebrate her release. Áñez left the prison waving a Bolivian flag around 15:00 GMT.
“It is comforting to see that justice will once again prevail in Bolivia. She was the only woman who took on the role with bravery and courage,” said Lizeth Maure, a 46-year-old nurse who had come to show her support.
Áñez, a 58-year-old lawyer and conservative politician, governed Bolivia for nearly a year until November 2020, when she handed power to leftist leader Luis Arce.
She was arrested in 2021 and sentenced the following year to 10 years in prison for “resolutions contrary to the Constitution,” accused of illegally assuming the presidency after Evo Morales resigned in 2019 amid social unrest.
Her sentence was overturned on Wednesday by the Supreme Court of Justice, Bolivia’s highest judicial authority.
The court ruled that Áñez should have been subjected to a “trial of responsibilities” before Congress— a constitutional process reserved for sitting presidents, vice presidents, ministers, and top judges — rather than prosecuted in an ordinary criminal court.
As she was welcomed by relatives and supporters upon release, Áñez declared:
“I feel the satisfaction of having fulfilled my duty to my country, of never having bowed down. And I will never regret having served Bolivia when it needed me.”
International
Peru declares Mexico’s president Persona Non Grata over political asylum dispute
Peru’s Congress declared Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum persona non grata on Thursday, accusing her of “unacceptable interference in internal affairs” after granting political asylum to former Peruvian Prime Minister Betssy Chávez.
The motion, introduced by right-wing parties, passed with 63 votes in favor, 33 against, and two abstentions. Lawmakers argue that Sheinbaum has maintained a hostile stance toward Peru since taking office.
Peru severed diplomatic relations with Mexico on Monday following the asylum decision. Chávez, who is facing charges for her alleged involvement in former President Pedro Castillo’s failed coup attempt in December 2022, remains under protection at the Mexican embassy residence in Lima.
Following the diplomatic break, interim President José Jerí said on X that Mexico’s chargé d’affaires in Peru, Karla Ornela, has been notified by the foreign ministry that she must leave the country within a strict deadline.
The Mexican government condemned Lima’s decision as “excessive and disproportionate,” asserting that offering asylum to Chávez is a legitimate act grounded in international law and does not constitute interference in Peru’s domestic matters.
Trump says GOP ‘learned a lot’ after democratic election wins
Bolivia’s Jeanine Áñez freed after Supreme Court annuls her conviction
Peru declares Mexico’s president Persona Non Grata over political asylum dispute
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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