Brazil’s Supreme Court witnessed a remarkable breach of military protocol as Lieutenant Colonel Mauro Cid refused to salute former Defence Minister General Walter Braga Netto during explosive testimony on Tuesday. The confrontation marks a pivotal moment in Brazil’s landmark trial of military officers accused of conspiring with ex-President Jair Bolsonaro to overturn the 2022 election results, according to AP News.
Cid, Bolsonaro’s former aide-de-camp who secured a plea bargain, testified that Braga Netto participated in November 2022 meetings plotting to prevent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva from taking office. The colonel further alleged Braga Netto handed him “a bag of cash” to distribute to Bolsonaro supporters camped outside military headquarters post-election.
Braga Netto dismissed these claims, branding Cid a “traitor” and “liar” during the closed-door judicial confrontation ordered by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.
The defendants face five charges including attempting to stage a coup, involvement in an armed criminal organisation, and attempting to violently abolish democratic rule. Braga Netto arrived in court from his Rio de Janeiro jail cell, where he had been detained since December for obstructing investigations. A Supreme Court staffer present described both men avoiding eye contact while maintaining “contradictory versions of events.”
This unprecedented civilian trial shatters decades of impunity for Brazil’s military elite. Unlike neighbouring Argentina and Chile, no senior figures faced consequences for the 1964-1985 dictatorship. Legal scholar Lucas Figueiredo noted:
Putting a colonel up against a general levels the playing the field and signals that for the justice system, all defendants are equal. The truth will prevail.
The accused had sought trial in the military court system where they might find sympathy, but the Superior Military Tribunal refused jurisdiction. “Members of the military court understood that, though perpetrated by military personnel, these are not military crimes,” explained UniCuritiba law professor Alexandre Knopfholz.
Despite the trial’s historic nature, scepticism remains about potential outcomes. The case has divided military ranks, with Bolsonaro-aligned General Roberto Peternelli claiming the trial “harms the country.” With a verdict expected by late 2025, the trial represents Brazil’s most consequential reckoning with its authoritarian past since democratisation.
