Despite starting to serve their sentences for participating in the 2023 coup attempt as of Tuesday, former President Jair Bolsonaro and members of his government leadership convicted in the coup plot trial are still receiving salaries and pensions. A Globo survey based on public salary data shows that in September, the month in which the case was decided, the eight defendants received at least R$200,000 combined.
Although not all income is classified as salaries, the highest earner in the group is that of former President Jair Bolsonaro. In September, he received R$33,800 from the Liberal Party, as well as two pensions, one worth R$27,500 from the Chamber of Deputies and one worth R$9,500 from the army. GLOBO considered values with deductions applied to gross income.
The three generals involved in the case, Paulo Sergio Nogueira, Walter Braga Neto, and Augusto Helena, as well as Admiral Garnier, received similar sums. The four reached the top of the hierarchy of their forces, the Army and the Navy, and also received similar pensions until September this year, worth about R$25,000.
All participating soldiers must, next year, pass another trial at the Supreme Court Military (STM) which will analyze the possibility of losing rank and rank. However, the STM decision may prevent the defendants from continuing to receive payments, but their dependents (wife or daughters) will still be beneficiaries of the pension.
However, on the list of those convicted there are two members of the first nucleus of the coup plot who are not military personnel: former Minister of Justice Anderson Torres and former director of the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (ABIN) Alexandre Ramagem. Because he is a federal lawmaker, Ramajim maintains a regular salary of R$34,000, the highest among the accused, paid by the Chamber of Deputies. But the parliamentarian fled the country and is currently in the United States.
As GLOBO columnist Malu Gaspar revealed, Ramajim left the country in September, but has been working remotely in the House of Representatives, including recording votes. According to the writer, and according to sources linked to the investigation, Ramajim fled Brazil across the country’s border with Guyana, in Roraima.
Originally, Ramajim, like Anderson Torres, were federal police delegates. Torres’ salary is the only one that has not been announced. He is also the target of a legal dispute: the former minister is the target of an administrative process within the institution. In 2023, the federal police demanded that Torres return his earnings for the period he was in prison.
However, in December 2024, a court decision overturned the internal decision of the Federal Police and stated that Torres would not need to return his salary. The gross salary of a PF representative, without deduction, ranges from R$26,000 to R$36,000, depending on his category.
How much did each defendant in the September coup plot get:
- Jair Bolsonaro: R$33,800 from the Liberal Party, R$9,500 from the Army, and R$27,500 from the House of Representatives.
- Walter Braga Neto: 25 thousand Brazilian reals from the army
- Augusto Heleno: 24.9 thousand Brazilian reals from the army
- Almir Garnier: R$25,600 from the Navy
- Paulo Sergio Nogueira: R$24,600 from the army
- Alexander Ramajim: 34.6 thousand Brazilian reals from the room