TSE declares former president Jair Bolsonaro is considered ineligible for abuse of power; understand
The former president was convicted of abuse of power and misuse of the media, with a vote of 5 votes in favor and 2 votes against. That conviction resulted in his being ineligible for a period of eight years.
O ex-presidente Jair Bolsonaro (PL).| Foto Reprodução/Alan Santos/PR
The Superior Electoral Court (TSE) decided this Friday morning (30), by majority, to condemn former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) for abuse of political power and misuse of the media, making it ineligible until 2030. The judgment was assumed around 12:00, with the vote of Justice Cármen Lúcia. Even before reading a summary of the vote, the minister announced her position through Bolsonaro's witness. Thus, the final score was 5-2 against the former president.
Judgment
The decision, issued by the TSE, is based on accusations that Bolsonaro would have used the public machine to defame the Brazilian electoral system without evidence. Former President Bolsonaro was tried for his participation in a meeting at the Palácio da Alvorada last year, in which he met with foreign ambassadors. During that meeting, which was broadcast on official government TV, the then president made unfounded attacks on the ballot boxes and the electoral system, without presenting concrete evidence, repeating previously denied allegations of fraud. It is important to highlight that this meeting took place shortly before the beginning of the electoral period.
At the TSE trial, Bolsonaro's defense argued that electronic voting should not be treated as a prohibited subject in democracy and stated that the meeting in question was an event of a diplomatic nature. Most TSE ministers disagreed with this interpretation, considering that the evidence presented was robust and that it was not possible to ignore the abuse of power committed.
Braga Netto, Bolsonaro's vice-president, who was also tried and obtained five votes, adhering to his acquittal, thus ensuring a majority in his favor.
Ministers' votes
Carmen Lúcia, vice-president of the TSE
Minister Cármen Lúcia was the first to vote in this Friday's session and expressed her opinion on the serious and forceful attacks that President Bolsonaro makes on ministers of the STF and TSE, even with information already refuted. According to the minister, although it is legitimate to criticize the Judiciary, a public servant cannot, in a public environment, carry out "attacks" against ministers, without considering that this directly affects the institution itself. She stated that the existence of a democracy depends on an independent judiciary.
Cármen Lúcia also expressed that the electoral nature of the meeting with ambassadors was confirmed, and that the admission of seriousness, that is, the impact of the action on the electoral process, was fulfilled. According to the minister, although the ambassadors were not heard, they exerted significant influence.
Nunes Marques
Minister Nunes Marques evaluated the action against Bolsonaro as unfounded and voted for the acquittal of the former president. According to the minister, the voting system has unquestionable integrity and Bolsonaro's conduct during the meeting was not intended to obtain political benefits through his speech, nor to discredit the system.
Alexandre de Moraes, President of the TSE
The president of the Supreme Court of Justice and of the Electoral Court completely adhered to the position of the rapporteur of the action, and the result of the vote ended at 5 to 2 for Bolsonaro's conviction. According to Moraes, Bolsonaro spread lies during the meeting and emphasized the use of the public machine to spread false news: "Every effort was made for TV Brasil to disseminate and the existing disinformation machine to multiply falsehoods in order to reach the electorate" .
Benedito Gonçalves (Rapporteur)
On Tuesday (27), Minister Benedito Gonçalves, the case's rapporteur, concluded that Bolsonaro should be condemned for abuse of political power and inappropriate use of the media. In his statement, Gonçalves determined that Bolsonaro be prohibited from running for a period of eight years, starting from the 2022 elections. ".
Raul Araujo
The minister disagreed with the rapporteur and denied the action proposed by the PDT in court. He dismissed the accusation of abuse of political power by stating that Bolsonaro's statements during the meeting were not serious enough. Araújo also argued that the transmission of the meeting by state media is justified due to the fact that it is an official event of the President of the Republic.
“Since the gravity can be measured by the violation of the legal rights, legitimacy and normality of the elections, but these being subject to a value judgment of degree, the fact is that the intensity of the concretely imputed behavior – the meeting of 7/18/2022 and the content of the speech – it was not so great as to justify the extreme measure of ineligibility”, says an excerpt from Araújo's vote.
Floriano Marques
The minister voted in favor of Bolsonaro's ineligibility and followed the rapporteur's vote. He concluded that there was a misuse of purpose and an attempt by the former president to promote himself during the event. According to Floriano Marques, the content of the meeting is much more like the opening of an electoral advertisement than a speech at a rally in an inland square.
The minister also contested all the arguments presented by the ex-president's defense, rejecting each one of them. Furthermore, he disagreed with the vote of Raul Araújo, who maintained that, even if there had been an underlying intention to the event, it would not have had any effect. According to Floriano, the meeting carries serious implications and could have had alarming consequences if the Electoral Justice had not prohibited the transmission of the former president's speech.
André Ramos Tavares
Tavares welcomed the vote of Benedito Gonçalves, as he considered that the meeting was not diplomatic in nature and emphasized the seriousness of the speech made by the former president on that occasion. According to Tavares, Bolsonaro's statements generated tension and instability, strengthening the involvement of a society in an unfounded narrative. Tavares also pointed out that the former president questioned the Brazilian electoral system at least 23 times in the year before the elections.
“It is serious when informational chaos settles in society and it is even more serious if this state is planned and comes from a speech by the President of the Republic. […] Voters' trust in democratic institutions ceases to exist and, with that, voting freedom itself becomes vitiated,” he said.
Action
The Democratic Labor Party (PDT) presented the Electoral Judicial Investigation Action (AIJE) 0600814-85 in August 2022, seeking the declaration of ineligibility of Jair Bolsonaro and Walter Braga Netto, who were candidates for the Presidency of the Republic in the 2022 Elections. The rationale for this action was based on statements made by the former president during the aforementioned meeting.
According to the party, during its oral argument, the action is not restricted to a specific meeting between the President of the Republic and foreign ambassadors, but rather denounces a clear misuse of purpose. The aim is to combat systematic attacks on the electoral system and protect democratic institutions. The party representative stated: "This action seeks to promote an Electoral Judicial Investigation Action (AIJE) in defense of democracy and institutions, in the face of continuous attacks suffered by the electoral system."
Ineligibility
The ineligibility imposed on Bolsonaro has as a consequence the impossibility for him to run for elected office in elections until 2030, which would prevent him from participating in municipal, state and federal elections, that is, with the decision, Bolsonaro is prevented from running for the Presidency of the Republic in 2026, as well as any other elected office during the period determined by the electoral justice.
Bolsonaro
Bolsonaro is the third former Brazilian president to be ineligible since the country's redemocratization. He is also the first leader to be convicted by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE). During a press conference, the former president stated his intention to appeal and described the TSE decision as a form of institutional and political persecution. At the same press conference, the former Brazilian head of state stated that he "believes it to have been the first conviction for abuse of political power" and also that it was a "crime without corruption".
He stated that the TSE was against his proposals and that, during his mandate, he respected the Constitution, although he was contrary to it on several occasions. When asked about the possibility of filing an appeal, Bolsonaro stated that he will discuss the matter with his lawyers before making a decision. Ironically, the former president stated: "My appeal will be at the Federal Supreme Court, isn't it?"
"They tried to kill me here in Juiz de Fora not long ago, I was stabbed in the stomach. Today I was stabbed in the back with the ineligibility for abuse of political power", said the former president.
Resources
Despite the conviction at the TSE, Bolsonaro has the option of appealing both to the TSE itself and to the Federal Supreme Court (STF). Bolsonaro's defense argued that the accusations were unfounded and that he acted in accordance with the law during his tenure as president. On the other hand, the defense of the former president indicated his intention to appeal if there is a conviction. There are two resource options available.
Motion for clarification - It is a type of resource that could be forwarded directly to the TSE. In this procedure, the defense seeks to highlight ambiguities and inconsistencies, with the aim of reversing a possible ineligibility decision and establishing the bases for a future appeal to the STF.
Extraordinary resource - This appeal would be forwarded to the STF. The application must highlight that a possible TSE decision on ineligibility violated constitutional principles. Tarcísio Vieira, Bolsonaro's lawyer, said that he had already identified grounds for such an appeal, based on the restriction on the right of defense.
Both appeals have a three-day deadline. However, if the declaration embargo is filed first, the deadline for the extraordinary appeal will not be counted. Before reaching the Federal Supreme Court, the appeal is submitted to the TSE itself, where President Alexandre de Moraes must verify that the formal requirements have been met. Once the case reaches the Supreme Court, the justices who participated in the trial at the TSE are not included in the draw for the rapporteurship, but they are not prevented from voting on the case when it is taken to plenary.
