Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been banned from seeking public office for eight years after a federal court ruled that he spread baseless claims about the country’s voting system and abused his power while in office. The Brazil Superior Electoral Court made the ruling on Friday, stating that Bolsonaro violated election laws during the lead-up to the October 2022 presidential race when he was still president. The court specifically referred to an incident last year when Bolsonaro called foreign diplomats to warn them about alleged vulnerabilities in the electronic voting system, describing his claims as “lies and misinformation.”
One of the judges on the panel, Benedito Goncalves, strongly condemned Bolsonaro’s actions, referring to them as “appalling lies” and “deceitful” statements that were aimed at creating a sense of paranoia among voters. Bolsonaro’s lawyers acknowledged that he was “excessively blunt” during the meeting with diplomats but argued that he was trying to improve the voting system. However, Bolsonaro himself protested against the verdict, claiming to reporters that he had been “stabbed in the back.”
Bolsonaro’s two sons, who are also politicians, expressed their dissatisfaction with the decision on social media. Eduardo Bolsonaro argued that his father had become a target of the establishment due to his conservative values, while Flavio Bolsonaro declared a “moral victory,” stating that it was clear to all Brazilians that his father was a good person.
After losing the election to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Bolsonaro continued to insist that the race was stolen from him, alleging that a malfunction had affected thousands of electronic voting machines. His supporters took to the streets in protest, causing unrest and even storming Brazil’s presidential palace. Lula himself accused Bolsonaro of attempting to launch a coup.
Bolsonaro eventually called for an end to the unrest and accepted his defeat. However, the courts rejected his claims, imposing a $4.3 million fine on him for challenging the election results in “bad faith.” He is currently facing a separate criminal probe over allegations that he intentionally incited the January 8 incident at the presidential palace.
It is worth noting that President Lula, who served from 2003 to 2010, was also barred from challenging Bolsonaro in the 2018 election due to a corruption conviction. However, he was released from custody in 2019 when Brazil’s Supreme Court overturned the verdict, stating that the judge who convicted him lacked proper jurisdiction. Supporters of Lula argue that the corruption case against him was politically motivated.
In conclusion, former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been banned from seeking public office for eight years after a court ruled that he spread baseless claims about the voting system and abused his power. The court’s decision has sparked controversy and garnered strong reactions from Bolsonaro’s supporters and critics alike. It remains to be seen how this ruling will impact the political landscape in Brazil.
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