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On Tuesday (05/07), during a ministerial meeting, President Jair Bolsonaro criticized once more the Brazilian electoral system. The President invited to the meeting Federal Deputy Filipe Barros, who would have presented alleged weaknesses of the voting system and repeated theses that were denied by the TSE in the past. The criticisms were supported by the ministers.
The Context
Bolsonaro has conditioned, in his public statements, the legitimacy of the elections to the acceptance by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) of suggestions for the electoral system proposed by the Armed Forces. The suggestions would include measures to monitor the voting system with the Armed Forces’ own computers. At the meeting, Defense Minister General Paulo Sérgio spoke about the proposals made to the TSE. He said he will present a kind of schedule for the court to answer questions that, according to him, have not yet been clarified.
Potential Violent Actions
On Wednesday (06/07), Defense Minister General Paulo Sérgio Nogueira said that the Armed Forces are not concerned about a possible violent action by groups opposed to the Brazilian electoral process, in a kind of re-edition of the invasion of the Capitol in the United States, after the defeat of Donald Trump. The statement was made during a hearing at the Chamber’s Committee on Foreign Affairs and National Defense. At the hearing, the minister also said that he has not questioned the credibility of the Brazilian electoral system. However, he added that no system is immune to failure or fraud and that electronic voting machines can be improved.
The Superior Electoral Court’s Stance
Also, on Wednesday (06/07), Superior Electoral Court (TSE) President Minister Luiz Edson Fachin, which is also a member of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), said that the Armed Forces can collaborate, but not intervene in elections. Fachin made the statements while delivering a lecture in Washington (USA), organized by the Brazil Institute, of the Wilson Center. The talk was about this year’s elections.
OAS Observation Mission
The day before, Fachin signed, in Washington, a cooperation agreement with the Organization of American States (OAS) for the presence of an observer mission in the October elections. According do media outlets, Bolsonaro has already acted to prevent some missions from coming to Brazil to follow the October elections, in particular a mission from the European Union (EU). Fachin informed that he is still working for the arrival of observers from the EU. In May, Fachin stated the goal is for more than 100 international observers to follow the presidential elections.
