Almost eight months after losing the elections, former far-right Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro faces the possibility of impeachment in a trial that opens today and could disqualify him from running in the 2026 election.
The Supreme Electoral Court has sued the former Brazilian president (2019-2022) for criticizing electoral justice and questioning the reliability of electronic voting, months before an election won by his leftist rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
In a speech from the presidential palace in July 2022, he announced to European diplomats that he wanted to “correct the flaws” in the electoral system, and demanded “transparency” of the vote. “We have time to resolve the issue with the participation of the armed forces,” he added in a speech broadcast on state television.
Because of these comments, Bolsonaro, 68, could be deemed “unfit” to serve eight years in public office. The public prosecutor is investigating him on charges of “abuse of political power and media”. Bolsonaro attacked the electronic voting system, which has been well-known in Brazil for more than 20 years, without any physical evidence.
Throughout his election campaign, he talked about the possibility of fraud and angered his staunch supporters who stormed the executive, legislative and judicial headquarters in Brasilia on January 8, days after Lula’s inauguration. Shocked the world. If the court does not issue its decision soon, as it seems likely, the deliberations could continue until June 27-29 or longer.
According to a judicial source, the file is the most dangerous for Bolsonaro, as the most important issue is knowing the “number of dissenting votes” that will be cast among the seven justices.
This judicial right is also a serious challenge to the Bolsonaro camp. And if he is found guilty of disqualification, the Brazilian right, which represents about half the electorate, could collapse, according to analysts.
Bolsonaro received more than 58 million votes in the second round of the 2022 presidential election, losing against Lula by just 1.8% of the vote. Conservative parties still dominate Congress.
Leandro Consentino, a professor at the Insper Institute in Sao Paulo, said: “There is a risk of a split in the right and far-right camp because there is no successor to Bolsonaro, the front-runner presidential candidate.”
The former president, who returned to Brazil at the end of March, publicly acknowledged the possibility of a judicial backlash after a brief stay in the United States ahead of Lula’s inauguration.
Last week he said: “No one will change the way we behave, we know what justice is like in Brazil. No matter what happens, we are proudly preparing to look for alternatives.
Also, the former president is facing around 15 proceedings in the Election Court. He has been targeted by the Supreme Court in five cases, including the January 8 attack, and faces jail terms.
According to Consentino, Bolsonaro could appeal after a possible conviction by the Supreme Electoral Court, although he considers his chances of success slim.
• The former president is facing about 15 proceedings in the Election Court and has been targeted by the Supreme Court.
• Bolsonaro criticized electoral justice and unsubstantiatedly questioned the reliability of electronic voting just months before the election, which his leftist rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won.
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