Investigating judge finds Bolsonaro guilty and votes in favor of disqualifying him for 8 years

The investigating judge of the process against Jair Bolsonaro found the former Brazilian president guilty of abuse of power in the 2022 elections and voted in favor of disqualifying him for 8 years, in the second hearing of the trial held this Tuesday at the Superior Electoral Court (TSE).

The magistrate Benedict Gonçalves took for granted that Bolsonaro used his then position of head of state “to degrade the electoral environment”, “incite a state of collective paranoia” and manufacture “conspiracy theories” with “false information” and “heinous lies”.

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“It is not possible to close one’s eyes to the undemocratic effects of violent speeches and lies that jeopardize the credibility of the electoral Justice”, affirmed the investigating judge in the summary reading of his vote, of 382 pages in total.

The minister of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), Benedito Gonçalves, rapporteur of the case, speaks during the trial session against former president Jair Bolsonaro at the TSE, in Brasilia, Brazil, on June 27, 2023. (Photo by Andre Borges / EFE) (Andre Borges /)

With the first vote in favor of Bolsonaro’s disqualification, the trial, which starts from a complaint by the Democratic Labor Partywas suspended and will resume on Thursday with the analysis of the other six magistrates that make up the electoral court and that will define the political future of the far-right leader.

The central point of the case is a meeting to which Bolsonaro summoned fifty foreign ambassadors at the official residence of the Presidency, on July 18, 2022, to seriously disqualify the electoral system and accuse the Justice of maneuvering in favor of today’s president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

That meeting, described today as “aberrant” by Gonçalves and in which the then president expressed unfounded suspicions about the electronic ballot boxes that Brazil used without complaints of fraud since 1996, was broadcast on public television and the social networks of the reserve captain of the Army.

Bolsonaro would end up losing the October elections of that year by a narrow margin to Lula, who took office on January 1.

However, Gonçalves opted for the acquittal of Bolsonaro’s running mate, General Walter Braga Nettoto the “their responsibility has not been proven” if.

MORE INFORMATION: Brazil: Jair Bolsonaro calls the trial against him a “politician” and “malicious”

Bolsonaro, “responsible integral”

In this context, he pointed to Bolsonaro, 68, as “the integral responsible” of the event with the ambassadors, based on the testimonies collected in the investigation, including several of his closest ministers.

In his opinion, Bolsonaro, based on arguments “completely distorted”, “flirted dangerously with the coup” and tried “convince” to the diplomatic representatives that “his account deserved more confidence than the official information of the TSE”.

“He tried to convince the international community that the elections were marked by systematic fraud and corrupt actions by the TSE, exposing a false image of Brazilian democracy.”, he sentenced.

Likewise, he interpreted as a “troubling neglect” the vision of the now ex-president on the role of the Armed forceswhich he unsuccessfully sought to transform into active actors for the counting of the votes.

Likewise, he knocked down the defense arguments of the far-right leader who wanted to reduce the scope of the accusation, which maintains that Bolsonaro’s campaign against the electoral system was the beginning of a movement that led to the violent assault on the three powers of the Nation that occurred last January 8.

Within this framework, Gonçalves defended the incorporation into the process of the draft of a presidential decree found last January at the residence of the former Minister of Justice Anderson Torres to annul Lula’s victory and keep Bolsonaro in power through a “Military intervention”.

“The events cannot be dissociated from the context in which they occurred”, pointed out the judge, who also rejected that Bolsonaro’s attacks on the voting system fall within the right to freedom of expression.

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While the trial was taking place, Bolsonaro, who pleads not guilty, showed his chest on his Telegram channel about his management (2019-2022) in front of “malicious narratives”.

The trial began on Thursday of last week with the reading of the case report and oral presentations by the prosecution, Bolsonaro’s defense and the Public ministrywho also asked to condemn the former head of state and strip him of his political rights.

In case of being found guilty, Bolsonaro could lose his political rights for the next 8 years, with which he would not be able to run in the next presidential elections, in 2026.

Source: Elcomercio