Brazil's Bolsonaro was convicted but the military appetite for a coup lingers

"Hours after supporters of the former president Jair Bolsonaro ransacked Brasilia on 8 January 2023, three electricity pylons were brought down in different locations, between 1,000 miles and 1,800 miles away from Brazil's capital. In the following days, 21 more towers were toppled, all using the same method: bolts were removed from the base, and supporting steel cables were cut. The perpetrators knew exactly which power lines to sever to cause the most harm to the electricity supply."

"The elaborate modus operandi led the federal police to suspect that the attacks had been carried out by members of the Brazilian army's elite unit, known as the black cap boys, trained in sabotage operations such as attacks on infrastructure facilities. Two years and eight months on, the perpetrators have still not been identified. Bolsonaro was last month found guilty of attempting to overthrow democracy, along with seven of his closest allies, including five senior military officers."

"The verdict prompted an outburst of relief and celebration among defenders of democracy, but there is a growing sense among researchers and even some former officers that the armed forces have not been held accountable as institutions and that the same mentality and training that drew the military into previous conspiracies remain unchanged. The risk of a new coup remains very much alive, said Rubens Pierrotti Jr, a retired colonel who served 32 years in the army and is now a lawyer and writer."

Supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro ransacked Brasilia on 8 January 2023, and within hours three electricity pylons were brought down hundreds to thousands of miles away. Over subsequent days 21 more towers were toppled by removing base bolts and cutting supporting steel cables, targeting specific power lines to maximize disruption. Federal police suspected members of the Brazilian army's elite black cap boys, trained in sabotage. Perpetrators remain unidentified two years and eight months later. Bolsonaro and seven allies were convicted of attempting to overthrow democracy, but researchers and former officers warn that institutional accountability of the armed forces remains lacking and coup risk endures.

Read at www.theguardian.com