Caiado Unsure if January 8 Events Were a Coup Attempt, Calls Classification 'Interpretation'

Presidential candidate Ronaldo Caiado expressed uncertainty on Wednesday regarding whether the events of January 8 constituted a coup attempt in Brazil. Speaking at a forum hosted by O Globo, Valor, and CBN, Caiado described the classification of the events as a "matter of interpretation" and suggested that actions associated with former President Jair Bolsonaro, whom he has promised amnesty, should be viewed with more leniency.

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I don't know. I wasn't inside. I wasn't living inside.

When pressed by journalists, Caiado stated, "I don't know. I wasn't inside. I wasn't living inside." He reiterated that labeling the January 8 events as a coup or not was "a question of interpretation." Caiado also relativized the actions that occurred under Jair Bolsonaro's presidency, noting that Bolsonaro is currently under house arrest following a Supreme Federal Court (STF) ruling that he led a plot to overturn election results. Caiado further cast doubt on the current Lula administration's handling of the January 8 events, implying that President Lula was slow to react to the attacks.

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It's a question of interpretation.

Caiado also drew a parallel between the January 8 events and actions by the MST (Landless Workers' Movement), questioning whether those actions should also be considered coup attempts. "I will grant amnesty to everyone, and no one will talk about this subject anymore," Caiado declared during the forum, asserting his authority to grant amnesty and denying that the STF could declare such an amnesty unconstitutional, despite the court's potential to do so.

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I will grant amnesty to everyone, and no one will talk about this subject anymore.

During the same forum, Caiado criticized presidential hopeful Flávio Bolsonaro for not explaining expenses related to the film "Dark Horse," which focuses on Jair Bolsonaro. Caiado deemed this refusal to clarify "disrespectful to the intelligence of the Brazilian people." He stated that while he had given Flávio Bolsonaro "the right to defense" and avoided initial prejudgment regarding financial dealings with former banker Daniel Vorcaro, Flávio had failed to provide an explanation, dismissing the issue as a "closed chapter" without offering details. Other candidates, including Romeu Zema and Renan Santos, participated in the forum series, while President Lula and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro declined invitations.

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It is disrespectful to the intelligence of the Brazilian people [to say the Dark Horse case is a closed chapter]. You do not have the right to be a candidate for the Presidency of the Republic and refuse to provide clarifications in which you are involved. You have to clarify for your voters and for the position you are going to assume.