After finding that the far-right former president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, overused his authority and raised baseless concerns about the nation’s electronic voting system, a panel of judges decided to bar him from running for office again.
The ruling would prevent Bolsonaro from seeking reelection until 2030, after the Judges voted on the issue. The verdict will disrupt the 68-year-old’s political fate and probably eliminating any prospect for him to return to office.
Four of the seven justices of the electoral court decided that, Bolsonaro overused his power by promoting his candidacy through government networks and creating concerns about the result.
“This decision will end Bolsonaro’s chances of being president again, and he knows it,” said Carlos Melo, a political science professor at Insper University in Sao Paulo.
“After this, he will try to stay out of jail, elect some of his allies to keep his political capital, but it is very unlikely he will ever return to the Presidency.”
Carlos Melo, Political Science Professor.
The lawsuit centered on a conference on July 18, 2022, during which Bolsonaro employed government officials, the state television station, and the presidential palace in Brasilia, to inform diplomats abroad that, the country’s electronic voting system was compromised.
Supreme Court justice, Judge Carmen Lucia declared that “the facts are incontrovertible” in her deciding judgment.
“The meeting did take place. It was convened by the then-president. Its content is available. It was examined by everyone, and there was never a denial that it did happen.”
Minister Carmen Lucia, Supreme Court Judge.
Bolsonaro has the option of appealing to the Supreme Court’s verdict. He is also facing additional legal issues, such as criminal inquiries.
Bolsonaro was adamant in his remarks to media.
“This is an injustice against me, my God in heaven! Show me something concrete I have done against democracy. Perhaps my crime was doing the right thing for four years.”
Jair Bolsonaro, Former President of Brazil.
Bolsonaro acknowledged in an interview earlier this week that, his chances of winning were slim. He would no longer be eligible to vote in the general election of 2026, as well as the municipal elections of 2024, 2028, and 2028. His prohibition might be extended by years, and he might even go to jail, if he is convicted of more crimes.
Both current president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and former president Fernando Collor de Mello were previously deemed ineligible, but Bolsonaro’s case is the first time a President has been banned for election violations instead of a criminal offense.
Persons with criminal convictions are barred from standing for office under Brazilian law. Lula da Silva was however, cleared by Brazil Supreme Court.
Moreover, Bolsonaro loyalist and legislator Carlos Jordy asserted that, the Former President still anticipated “a drastic change” from the court, prior to the ruling. Jordy, on the other hand, stated that, he begun to think about a future without Bolsonaro as the standard-bearer of right-wing Brazilian politics.
“Even if they commit this injustice, which has no precedent at the electoral court, Bolsonaro remains Brazil’s biggest political figure. There will be some people able to carry his flag.”
Carlos Jordy.
Furthermore, according to Marie Santini, the Coordinator of NetLab, a research team at Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Bolsonaro’s fun base has been revitalized online as a result of the verdict, with his supporters arguing that, he has been a subject of an unjust judicial system, equating his future to that of former U.S. President Donald Trump.
