Bolsonaro says he sees no reason for the TSE to make him ineligible – 03/30/2023 – Politics

Former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) said this Thursday (30) that there are no reasons for the TSE (Superior Electoral Court) to make him ineligible when judging the series of actions that are being processed against him.

Bolsonaro returned to Brazil after 89 days in the United States. He left shortly before the end of his presidential term, thus breaking the tradition of passing the sash to his successor, which symbolizes the transmission of power.

Upon his return, the former president will face a series of investigations and legal actions that could make him ineligible or even accused of criminal proceedings.

The former president arrived this Thursday morning at Brasília’s international airport and then went straight to the headquarters of the PL, where he met former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro and supporters.

The president greeted supporters, but did not want to talk to journalists who were in front of the tower complex in the center of Brasília. However, he gave an interview to Jovem Pan and was asked about his actions at the TSE.

“The party’s lawyers are dealing with the issue of the Superior Electoral Court. I don’t see any materiality in anything. The strongest action against me is a meeting I held with ambassadors in the middle of last year. I see no reason to judge myself ineligible because of that” , said the former representative.

At the TSE, of the 16 lawsuits being processed against Bolsonaro, two have as their main target attacks on the electoral process and the ballot boxes.

The main one was presented by the PDT and focuses on the meeting with ambassadors held by the then president in July 2022, in which he repeated conspiracy theories about electronic voting machines and promoted coup threats.

The former president also returned to defend the militants who participated in the coup acts of January 8, which resulted in the invasion and depredation of the Planalto Palace, the National Congress and the Federal Supreme Court. And he asked for the installation of a joint parliamentary commission of inquiry to investigate the episode.

“We are a spontaneous movement on the part of the population that decided to go to the barracks door for security reasons. The episode of the 8th will be clarified via CPMI [Comissão Parlamentar Mista de Inquérito], which at first Lula and his politicians wanted. Got a signature. Well, a few days later they saw that it wasn’t quite like that story [e por isso desistiram]. The CPMI will bring the truth and show what happened,” said the president.

“Our people did nothing, in my opinion, that escaped the law. There were people who participated in those events. Now, why doesn’t the PT, the government, want CPMI? What do you have to fear? Do you have documents, or don’t you have them?” “Documents from Abin or the PF? Did the PRF follow up on movements in Brazil in early January or not?”, he added.

The president was asked about the use by Abin (Brazilian Intelligence Agency) of a secret system to monitor the location of citizens throughout the national territory. The case was revealed by the newspaper O Globo.

Bolsonaro acknowledged that his government operated the system, but sought to attribute responsibility to the Michel Temer government, which acquired the system.

“A few days ago I was accused of having manipulated, snooped on 10,000 people through Abin’s machine. This Abin machine was bought in the Temer government. It has the capacity to monitor telephone signals. This may have been used by Abin, perhaps this has sedimented the study for the security agencies”, said the president.