in update

This Tuesday, the Superior Electoral Court of Brazil held the third session to decide whether former President Jair Bolsonaro will remain ineligible for the next eight years. During the afternoon, three of the six TSE magistrates voted, two of whom (Floriano de Azevedo Marques and André Ramos Tavares) spoke in favor of the request for disqualification that could prevent the former head of state from running for election until 2030. Judge Raúl Araújo, the first to vote this Wednesday, was against Bolsonaro’s ineligibility.

The lawsuit against Jair Bolsonaro stemmed from a lawsuit filed by the Democratic Labor Party (PDT) in August last year, alleging that the former president abused political power and the media. This is a meeting that the then Brazilian head of state organized, in the middle of the electoral campaign, with foreign ambassadors at the Palácio da Alvorada on July 18, 2022.

In a long speech in which he defended “self-control” and a “minimum intervention” of the electoral justice, Raúl Araújo acknowledged the abusive act of the former president during the meeting with the ambassadors, but voted to reject Bolsonaro’s request for disqualification. This was followed by statements by Floriano de Azevedo Marques and André Ramos Tavares, who, assuming a similar position, concluded that there was an “abuse of power.”

To the votes of Floriano de Azevedo Marques and André Ramos Tavares is added that of the TSE judge Benedito Gonçalves, rapporteur of the action against Jair Bolsonaro. On Wednesday, the judge had already voted the disqualification of the former Brazilian president. The trial was adjourned this afternoon and will resume on Friday at 12:00 (local time). Three judges remain to be heard: Cármen Lúcia, Nunes Marques and, finally, Alexandre de Moraes, president of the TSE.

Even before all the votes of the day were known, Bolsonaro ruled on the trial, which he described as unfair. “It is unfair to me, my God in heaven. Indicate something concrete that I did against Democracy, I played within the four lines all the time, ”he said in statements to journalists, before boarding a flight from Brasilia to Rio de Janeiro.

What is at stake in the Bolsonaro trial?

In a meeting with ambassadors in July of last year, a meeting broadcast on state television TV Brasil and on social networks, former President Bolsonaro criticized the electoral system and stated, without providing evidence, that it was possible to commit fraud. In front of some 40 ambassadors from various countries, he particularly attacked the electronic ballot box system —used since 1996 and validated by various international organizations—, the same system that elected him for various terms as federal deputy and president. He even insinuated that it was a company that counted the votes in the elections and not the TSE, also stating that a hacker he had had access “to everything within the TSE.” These statements led to an action by the PDT, which later had the support of the Public Ministry.

On Wednesday, TSE judge Benedito Gonçalves and rapporteur of the action against Jair Bolsonaro voted in favor of the ineligibility of the former Brazilian president for the next eight years. In a speech with harsh words, Benedito Gonçalves declared that Bolsonaro committed abuse of power and politics and misuse of the media. In the same session, he exonerated Walter Braga Netto, Bolsonaro’s vice-presidential candidate, because “his responsibility has not been proven in the accusation.”

“He sought international smear and uttered “heinous lies”. Rapporteur judge votes disqualification for eight years of Jair Bolsonaro

“It is not possible to turn a blind eye to the anti-democratic effects of violent speeches and lies that put the credibility of electoral justice at risk,” stressed the rapporteur, referring to Bolsonaro’s position in the meeting with the ambassadors. “The meeting had an electoral purpose, seeking to influence the electorate and national and international public opinion using the public structure and the prerogatives of the office of President of the Republic,” he added.

In addition to this process, the TSE also has, according to the Globo newspaper, another 15 actions against the former president, which question conduct that could also lead to his disqualification.