On Thursday, Brazil’s top electoral court began hearing the case against former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. This case has created turmoil in Brazil’s political circles because he would be ineligible for public office for eight years.
What’s the case?
Brazil’s Democratic Labor Party has filed a case against the former president, claiming that the far-right leader misused his power by using government communication channels to promote his campaign and cast baseless suspicions on the country’s voting procedure.
The case focuses on a meeting Bolsonaro convened at the presidential palace with foreign ambassadors in July 2022, which was telecasted on state television for nearly an hour.
The court session started with Judge Benedito Goncalves reading his report on the case. After which Bolsonaro, represented by his lawyer Tarcisio Vieira de Carvalho, denied any wrongdoing and told the court that the case was nothing but of ‘ideological falsehood.’
The court’s hearing continued for about three hours before President Alexandre de Moraes suspended the session, citing time and scheduled obligations at the Supreme Court.
The next court hearing has been scheduled for 27th June, Tuesday and 29th June, Thursday. However, the trial could extend for months if judges request additional time to review the case.
He Could be banned for eight years.
While it is not a criminal case, the judges can bar the former president from running for office for eight years. If Bolsonaro is declared ineligible, the next presidential election he could contest would be in 2034, by which he would be almost 80 years old.
In his report on the case, Paulo Gonet Branco suggested barring Bolsonaro from public office. However, that report will be studied by the court’s panel, which consists of judges from Brazil’s top courts, the Supreme Court and the Superior Court of Justice, along with two appointees.
Branco’s report claims that Bolsonaro misled voters about a Federal Police investigation into the 2018 elections to lay the claim that the voting system isn’t trustworthy and that he presented that misleading report to foreign ambassadors in the meeting last year.
The Supreme Court is also investigating the former president for sharing details of that investigation, a case proceeding under seal.
What is he currently doing?
Bolsonaro left Brazil for Florida days before his term ended and returned on 30th March after nearly three months. He currently has a ceremonial leadership role within his Liberal party and travels around the country as a critic of current Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who defeated him in the October 2022 election with the narrowest margin in over three decades.
He is expected to help campaign for mayors in next year’s municipal election in Brazil. Surfing the Bolsonaro wave in the 2022 general election, the Liberal Party won more congressional seats than any other party. It became the largest party in both Houses of Parliament.
If the electoral court strips Bolsonaro of his political rights, he could appeal to the higher court. However, it is just the tip of the iceberg for his legal problems, as he also has criminal cases against him.
