Bolsonaro reacted badly to the decisions made by the Supreme Electoral Court on Tuesday. In a single plenary session, the Court banned the carrying of weapons in polling stations, concluded that the president was spreading false news about the electoral system, and fined a cooperative for funding re-election propaganda. Bolsonaro said privately that he interpreted this series of lawsuits as a “declaration of war”.
The President was offended and infuriated by the wholesale sale of words in a vote by Minister Ricardo Lewandowski. Lewandowski, the rapporteur of the process that removed the guns from the ballot boxes, mentioned the occupation of the Capitol, the center of the US Congress, by supporters of Donald Trump in his vote.
Specially dubbed “lulista” by Bolsonaro, Lewandowski argued that “the figures regarding the amount of firearms owned by the population are alarming”. Without naming his target, he declared that rulers should “avoid conversations or conversations that fuel polarization.”
At a time when he assumed the role of inspector of the Armed Forces’ electronic voting machines, Lewandowski described the elections as “a civil ceremony presided over by civilian authorities.” to touch them.”
Lewandowski said things like: “Guns and votes are incompatible elements.” He criticized those who “deliberately undermine the relevant columns under the pretext of defending democracy”. […]. They impede public debate and undermine democratic institutions, ultimately undermining the rule of law that guarantees them freedom of expression.”
In another decision that demoralized Bolsonaro, the TSE plenary upheld the decision of magistrate Mauro Campbell, who forced him to delete social media platforms and Brazilian TV videos of the meeting in which Bolsonaro lied to the ambassadors about electronic voting machines. There was more: the ministers fined Cooperativa dos Produtores Agropecuaristas do Paraíso e Região R$5,000 for sponsoring billboards with pro-Bolsonaro messages in cities in Mato Grosso do Sul.
Ironically, Bolsonaro’s fuse flared up again at a time when the disgruntled Alexandre de Moraes, Federal Supreme Court minister and head of the TSE, was raising a white flag towards the military. In a meeting this Wednesday with Defense Minister General Paulo Sérgio Nogueira, Moraes briefed on the realization of a “pilot project” that could lead to a proposal from the Armed Forces being included in the so-called “testing of the integrity of the ballot boxes”.
Bolsonaro’s problems with the judiciary split Bolsonaro’s campaign team in two. One group finds it natural that the president encouraged his devotees to take to the streets to quell their dissatisfaction with what he called the judicial “oppression” on September 7.
Another wing hopes Bolsonaro will get his momentum under control. In this bloc, there is the understanding that the president’s participation in the polls and the exchange of thorns with the judges can serve to fill the streets with devotees, but do not lead to voting at the polls.
source: Noticias
