TSE rejects three actions against Bolsonaro for lives and events during the 2022 campaign

The Superior Electoral Court (TSE) rejected this Tuesday (17) three actions against former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) for lives and events held in the Planalto and Alvorada palaces during the 2022 electoral campaign. trial of the three actions that determine whether Bolsonaro committed abuse of political power.

The trial began last week, with oral arguments from the prosecution and defense and a statement from the Electoral Attorney General’s Office (PGE). The judicial electoral investigation actions (Aijes) were analyzed separately this evening.

First action: score 7-0

The first of them was unanimously rejected. This is Aije 0600828-69, presented by PDT, about a live broadcast that took place on August 18, 2022. In this case, the electoral inspector and rapporteur of the actions, minister Benedito Gonçalves, rejected the preliminary and dismissed the merit of the request from broken. For the rapporteur, the PDT did not present “robust proof that the Palácio do Planalto and the Libra interpreter service funded by the Union were used”.

The ministers fully followed Gonçalves’ understanding: Raul Araújo, Cármen Lúcia, Nunes Marques and the president of the TSE, Alexandre de Moraes. Ministers Floriano de Azevedo Marques and André Ramos Tavares, in addition to accompanying the rapporteur, present summaries of votes with an addition to Gonçalves’ reasoning.

During her vote, Cármen Lúcia defended that a rule be established for the use of public government places, whether federal, state or municipal, for lives. Moraes cited, as did the rapporteur, that there is no robust evidence in the PDT’s action against Bolsonaro, as the live stream does not show any symbol of the Republic and no evidence was presented that it was carried out at the Palácio do Planalto.

Second action: score 5 to 2

The second action (Aije 0601212-32) is about the live broadcast on August 21, 2022 broadcast from the Palácio da Alvorada library, also presented by PDT. In this case, Gonçalves considered that there had been prohibited conduct on the part of Bolsonaro, but not enough to constitute an abuse of power. The majority of ministers dismissed the request made by the PDT as unfounded.

“Almost half of the 30 minutes of the live broadcast is dedicated to free electoral hours with requests for votes, display of campaign material from candidates for the position of governor, senator and federal deputy”, pointed out the rapporteur. The live had the participation of Major Vitor Hugo, then a candidate for the government of Goiás. “As for the content, there is no doubt that an electoral message was linked to the imminence of the first round of elections”, reinforced Gonçalves.

Furthermore, the rapporteur cited the testimony of the Libra interpreter who followed the live. She claimed that she had worked voluntarily, but without presenting campaign donation records. The rapporteur requested that the Libra interpreter’s hearing be forwarded to the rapporteurs who are analyzing the accounts of the 2022 campaign of Bolsonaro’s ticket.

Gonçalves pointed out that “the use of the library is nothing trivial”. “Not only did the live show take place at Palácio da Alvorada, but the distinctive sign that allowed immediate association between the campaign of the candidate for re-election and symbolic assets of the Presidency of the Republic was also present,” he stated.

During his vote, the rapporteur proposed two theses, which, if approved, will be implemented from the 2024 elections onwards. The first of them is the possibility of applying fines even if the prohibited conduct is not enough to constitute abuse of power. The second will serve to establish the use of rooms in official residences by representatives seeking re-election in lives. The minister suggested that only the then representative (mayor, governor or president of the Republic) should appear in the broadcast, without the participation of other people.

In the second action, the ministers followed Gonçalves’ understanding: Raul Araújo, Cármen Lúcia, Nunes Marques and Alexandre de Moraes. Minister Floriano de Azevedo Marques opened a partial disagreement with the rapporteur and proposed the imposition of a fine of R$10,000 on Bolsonaro. Minister André Ramos Tavares partially disagreed with the rapporteur “regarding the analysis of the limits imposed on managers who choose to carry out institutional communication through a private channel”. Tavares also suggested a fine of R$20,000 for the former president. The criteria for the two theses proposed by the rapporteur will be defined in the next session of the Electoral Court.

Third action: score 6 to 1

The third action analyzed by the ministers (Aije 0601665-27) was filed by the Brasil da Esperança coalition and the Psol-Rede Federation due to events held in Planalto and Alvorada in the second round with the presence of governors, parliamentarians and artists who supported the then president.

For Benedito Gonçalves, the prohibited conduct occurred, but without sufficient evidence to constitute abuse of political power. The rapporteur rejected the preliminary and dismissed the request from President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s (PT) campaign as unfounded. “Episodes were found in which there was indeed an undue transfer of public assets to carry out campaign events, but there was no demonstration of a specific context that would give more accentuated contours to the reprehensibility of the conduct”, said the rapporteur.

Ministers Raul Araújo, Nunes Marques and André Ramos Tavares followed Gonçalves’ vote, with reservations in the reasoning. Minister Cármen Lúcia and the president of the TSE also followed the rapporteur’s understanding. Minister Floriano de Azevedo Marques disagreed about events with governors and artists. Floriano judged the action to be partially valid. He also suggested imposing a fine of R$70,000 on Bolsonaro and R$20,000 on the then vice-presidential candidate Walter Braga Netto.