President’s Electoral Coalition Goes to the Electoral Court to Question Lula's Legitimate Victory

WBO Press Release November 25th 2022

Valdemar Costa Neto, during the presentation of the PL (Liberal Party) report contesting the result of the 2022 election, at a press conference, in Brasília, on November 21, 2022. Photo by Marcello Casal Jr/Agência Brasil

• President’s Electoral Coalition Goes to the Electoral Court to Question Lula's Legitimate Victory

• Minister Alexandre de Moraes Denies Request to Invalidate almost Half of the Ballot Boxes

On Tuesday, November 22, the coalition of parties with which Jair Bolsonaro ran for reelection – the Republicans, the Progressive Party (PP) and the Liberal Party (PL), the latter being the president’s party – asked the Federal Electoral Court (TSE) to invalidate the result of the second round of the October elections. In response, Alexandre de Moraes, the president of the electoral court, reacted by denying the petition and fining the three parties R$ 22.9 million (US$ 5.3 million at the exchange rate on November 24) for “litigating in bad faith".

The coalition's offensive is yet another chapter in the insistent quest by followers of the current president, Jair Bolsonaro, to discredit the electoral system and attack democracy in Brazil. Moraes' response, in turn, renews the head-on clash that the minister has been leading with this political sector.

The coalition seeks to challenge the October presidential election, which was won by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of the Workers' Party (PT), arguing that 279,300 of the 577,000 electronic voting machines showed “malfunctions.” Marcelo Bessa, the lawyer representing the plaintiffs, argued that it is impossible "to certify that the ballot boxes registered the electoral result according to the will of the voters." For that reason, according to him and other party members, the race should be annulled.

The document presented by Bolsonaista parties to the Electoral Court does not, however, offer any evidence to prove the allegations. In an alleged technical and formal language, the text repeats the same unfounded accusations that had been repeated for months by Bolsonaro and his supporters against the Brazilian electoral system, even before the election campaign had begun, when surveys were already projecting Lula's victory, which was later confirmed at the polls.

The new offensive met with resistance from the judiciary. Two days after receiving the request, Alexandre de Moraes imposed a multimillion-dollar fine on the Brazilian president's party, as he understood that the petition was basically intended to “disturb the Brazilian democratic regime itself.”

“The action itself is more of the same. The document presented by the PL and other Bolsonarist parties is part of a set of measures undertaken for months by Bolsonaro's followers to sabotage democracy in Brazil. It is already known that this is a well-organized campaign, which has been supported by politicians and financed by businessmen interested in making the transition and a new term of Lula as difficult as possible.”

Paulo Abrão, Executive Director of the WBO

“In many ways, this far-right political sector in Brazil has been following a script similar to that of former President Donald Trump, which consists of using social networks to spread false news with which they seek to discredit the electoral system and subvert the democratic order, instilling a radicalized and sometimes violent militancy.”

James N. Green, Chairman of the WBO Board of Directors.

SCAM BEFORE LULA'S INAUGURATION

Bolsonaro still has a month left in his term before Lula takes office on January 1, 2023. Until then, the current Brazilian president remains a threat to democracy because of the ways he manipulates a base of radicalized supporters and the harmful influence he has over military police and members of the armed forces.

The most visible expression of this instability is the continuation of protests by supporters of president who, since the election, have been camped in front of military installations, asking that the armed forces take power. The president of Brazil has been making ambiguous statements about these demonstrators without ever clearly discouraging them.

In several parts of the country, roadblocks carried out by backers of the defeated president are still operating. These blockades worry President Lula's transition team, whose members met with Moraes and with commanders of the State Military Police, who are responsible for dealing with the blockades.

The movement in favor of a coup has taken on increasingly radicalized positions in some places. In Rondônia, the state Public Prosecutor's Office is investigating an attack on a water supply facility, which could be classified as an act of terrorism. In some states, even the Federal Highway Police has been attacked by protesters.

In addition, the commanders of the Army, Navy and Air Force published an official note on November 11, in which they mention the “popular demonstrations that have been taking place in numerous places in the country” and say they reaffirm their “unrestricted and unshakable commitment to the Brazilian people.”

Along the same lines, Vice-president Hamilton Mourão, himself a retired army general, who was elected senator in October, said he sees a “collective catharsis” in the coup demonstrations. Like Bolsonaro – who has rarely been seen in public since his defeat by Lula – Mourão also refuses to discourage coup plotters.

“The threat of a coup d'état remains alive in Brazil. Unfortunately, this needs to be said clearly: Bolsonaro lost the election, but he and his allies never stopped playing this ambiguous game, in which they avoid respecting the rules and institutions at all costs. There is a latent tension, which has not completely dissipated,” said Abrão.

This year, the Washington Brazil Office undertook measures in the United States along with Brazilian civil society organizations to explain the current threat to democracy, the environment, and human rights in Brazil. As part of this effort, representatives of 19 Brazilian organizations traveled to Washington in July to meet with congressional representatives, the State Department, and local civil society organizations.

Since then, US congressional representatives and senators who received this delegation have made at least three formal requests to President Joe Biden that he use his prerogatives over US foreign policy to indicate to Bolsonaro that the US government would not accept under any circumstances challenges to the election process. In addition, the US Senate unanimously approved a motion along the same lines.

“The defense of Brazilian democracy is not only important for Brazil. A country of such dimensions, weight, and importance is inevitably interconnected with others. In this sense, international actors took a stand to show that they value Brazilian democracy and are vigilant in this regard in their solidarity with and in their support of those who fight to preserve democracy within Brazil,” said Green.