The Brazilian Public Ministry opened an investigation into the organization, less than a month before the presidential elections, of a possible “party political demonstration” by the government on the occasion of the bicentennial of independence.
The Attorney General’s Office said Thursday that the investigation aims to investigate whether there was a “deviation from the objective” in the celebrations organized the day before, on Copacabana beach, in Rio de Janeiro, in the presence of thousands of supporters of the President. of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, candidate for a new term, according to a statement.
The traditional civic-military parade, which usually takes place in the center of the city, changed location at the request of the head of stateto take place on that beach, where Bolsonaro supporters usually gather, which generated an alleged confusion between the bicentennial celebrations and the political demonstrations in favor of the Brazilian president.
On Thursday, Bolsonaro turned to social networks to defend himself against the opposition’s complaints, according to which there was an electoral use of the country’s party: “I did not spend a penny, I paid all my expenses. There was a clear separation between the civic-military event and the one that took place outside.”
For its part, the Attorney General’s Office stated that, in a first phase, it was not possible “to identify the necessary and sufficient efforts to differentiate the bicentennial celebrations from the party demonstration that took place in the same place.”
In a letter to the Senate on Thursday, former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva accused Bolsonaro of “having sidetracked” the bicentennial celebration in a “blatant attempt to gain electoral advantage with political resources.”
Lula criticizes Bolsonaro’s political use of the bicentennial
Also on Thursday, the Democratic Labor Party (PDT, opposition) requested the disqualification of the president and candidate to the Superior Electoral Court of Brazil, which he accused of transforming the celebration of the bicentennial of independence into an “electoral platform.”
According to the latest survey by the Datafolha Institute, published last week, Lula da Silva leads the voting intentions for the presidential elections on October 2, with 45% compared to 32% for Bolsonaro.
Source: Observadora
