BRASILIA, Brazil — Brazil’s top electoral court on Thursday began hearing a case that could torpedo former President Jair Bolsonaro’s political future by making him ineligible for public office for eight years.
Judges are evaluating a case brought by Brazil’s Democratic Labor Party, which claims the far-right leader abused his power by using government media to promote his campaign and cast unfounded doubts about the electronic voting system of the country.
Although Bolsonaro has often criticized the voting system, the focus of the lawsuit is a meeting last July Bolsonaro met at the presidential palace with foreign ambassadorswhich was broadcast on state television for almost an hour.
Thursday’s session in the capital, Brasilia, began with the reading of his report on the case of Judge Benedito Gonçalves. Bolsonaro’s lawyer, Tarcísio Vieira de Carvalho, told the judges that the case was “plagued with ideological falsehood”. The president of the court, Alexandre de Moraes, adjourned the session after about three hours, before any judge had voted, citing the time and obligations expected of the Supreme Court.
Two further hearings have already been scheduled for next Tuesday and Thursday, but the trial could drag on for several months if one of the judges asks for additional time to review the case.
In comments to reporters outside the Senate on Wednesday, the former president acknowledged he could be disqualified from public office, although he denied any wrongdoing.
Rodrigo Prando, a professor of political science at Mackenzie University in São Paulo, said the evidence against Bolsonaro was strong. “Bolsonaro speaks in live broadcasts, on Twitter. I never saw anyone bring as much material against himself as Bolsonaro did,” he said.
In his report on the case, Paulo Gonet Branco, one of Brazil’s top electoral court prosecutors, recommended Bolsonaro’s ban from public office. The report will be analyzed by the tribunal’s panel, which is made up of judges from Brazil’s two highest courts, the Supreme Court and the Superior Court of Justice, plus two appointees.
Branco’s report claims that Bolsonaro misled voters about a Federal Police investigation into the 2018 election by claiming the voting system is unreliable and that he presented that information to ambassadors at last year’s meeting .
The Supreme Court is simultaneously investigating the former president for sharing details of that investigation, a case that is sealed.
“I would like to remain 100% active in politics, and by withdrawing my political rights, which in my opinion is an affront, you lose some of that fuel,” Bolsonaro said Thursday morning in comments posted on his YouTube channel .
Bolsonaro left Brazil for Florida days before his term ended, returning on March 30. He has a ceremonial leadership role within his political party and has traveled Brazil as a critic of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who defeated him in last October’s election. which presented the narrowest margin in more than three decades.
On Thursday, Bolsonaro traveled to the city of Porto Alegre, in southern Brazil, where he will attend a transport fair and an event of his Liberal Party.
It is also expected to help mayors in next year’s municipal elections, whether or not they have their political rights. Riding the Bolsonaro wave in the 2022 general election, the Liberal Party won more seats in Congress than any other and became the largest in both the Lower House and the Senate.
If the electoral court strips Bolsonaro of his political rights, he could appeal to the Supreme Court. However, there are other lawsuits pending with the electoral court seeking the same result. And that’s just part of his legal troubles, too include criminal investigations.
Bolsonaro, 68, will continue to wield some political power until the 2026 presidential election, even if he is declared ineligible to run, said Carlos Melo, a professor of political science at Insper University in São Paulo. If Bolsonaro is declared ineligible, the next presidential election in which he could participate would be in 2034, Melo noted.
“Bolsonaro will be finished as a presidential candidate if he really loses this trial,” he said. “Many voters would just vote for him, but based on the polls we’ve seen, the vast majority of conservatives and right-wing voters are willing to look past Bolsonaro and choose any other candidate, even if he doesn’t have the support of him”.
For now, however, Bolsonaro’s ineligibility would bring down Brazil’s right-wing political hierarchy.
Other potential standard-bearers whose names have been circulated include the governor of São Paulo. Tarcisio de Freitas, governor of Minas Gerais. Romeu Zema and Bolsonaro’s wife, Michelle Bolsonaro. All of them, however, trail Bolsonaro in popularity, Prando said.
“Bolsonaro’s profile became very unique, because the right also joined it. Many (politicians) only include the extreme right,” Prando said. “In terms of charisma today too, there is no name like Bolsonaro.”
