On Friday, Brazilian election officials barred former President Jair Bolsonaro from running for public office until 2030, removing a leading candidate from the next presidential election and handing a major setback to the country's far-right movement.
Less than three months before last year's election, Bolsonaro called diplomats to the presidential palace and made unfounded claims that the nation's voting systems were likely to be manipulated against him, according to Brazil's electoral court.
Brazil Court Bars Bolsonaro From Politics
Five of the court's seven justices ruled that Bolsonaro committed an abuse of power when he convened the meeting with diplomats and aired it on state television.
Per NY Times, the decision represents a swift and severe rebuke of Bolsonaro and his attempt to undermine Brazil's elections. Bolsonaro was president of one of the world's largest democracies only six months ago. Now, his political career is in jeopardy.
Bolsonaro, 68, will be eligible to run for president again in 2030 when he will be 75 years old. The next presidential election is expected to take place in 2026.
Bolsonaro stated on Friday that he was not startled by the decision of 5 to 2 because the court had always ruled against him. Bolsonaro appeared to embrace his destiny by announcing on Friday that he would focus on campaigning for other candidates on the right.
Nonetheless, he is anticipated to appeal the ruling to Brazil's Supreme Court, despite the fact that this court acted aggressively during his presidency to limit his authority
He has criticized the Supreme Court harshly for years, labeling some justices "terrorists" and accusing them of attempting to influence the vote against him.
Brazil's Electoral System
The case stems from a meeting Bolsonaro held with foreign ambassadors in July 2022, during which he disseminated fraudulent information about Brazil's electoral system and questioned its credibility in advance of the contentious election last year. According to CNN, the meeting was livestreamed on YouTube and official television channels.
YouTube removed the livestream of the event because it violated its policy on false news. The judge who presided over the court, Alexandre de Moraes, voted last. After voting in favor of the guilty verdict, he stated, "Let us renew our faith in our democracy and the rule of law."
Moraes added that with the vote, Brazilian authorities would demonstrate that they do not tolerate "criminal extremism challenging the powers of the state, false news, and disinformation aimed at misleading voters."
Bolsonaro has refuted any improper conduct. On Friday, Bolsonaro told the Brazilian radio station Itatiaia that he intends to appeal the court's decision.
Current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won the election by the narrowest margin in decades over the far-right candidate. After weeks of protests over the election results, pro-Bolsonaro demonstrators broke into government buildings in Brasilia during riots on January 8.
The case before the Superior Electoral Court began with a lawsuit filed by Brazil's Democratic Labor Party against Bolsonaro and his running companion in the 2022 elections, Walter Braga Netto. The plurality of justices voted to exonerate Braga Netto.
According to a report by Judge Benno Goncalves, during the meeting with ambassadors, the former president allegedly stated that the 2022 elections could be compromised due to deception.
Bolsonaro is also alleged to have claimed that in 2018, voting machines altered voters' choices in favor of his opponent, that Brazilian voting machines cannot be audited, and that electoral and judicial authorities were safeguarding "terrorists," according to the report.
All of these allegations of defects in the electoral system have been refuted by the Brazilian electoral authorities. This case is one of several pending against the former president before the Superior Electoral Court.
