The first class of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) formed a majority to maintain the conviction of former President Jair Bolsonaro for irregular electoral propaganda in the 2022 elections. The decision rejected the defense appeal and reaffirmed the understanding of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) that there was misuse of negative content drive against then-opponent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Bolsonaro’s lawyers’ request was sent for analysis of the virtual plenary last Friday, 28.
In the vote, Minister Flávio Dino, rapporteur, argued that the Supreme Court could not accept the appeal of Bolsonaro’s defense because this would require review evidence and facts of the case, that is, to reanalize what has already been investigated and decided by the lower instances.
The minister stressed that this type of reevaluation is not allowed in this type of appeal, which can only be used when there is a direct discussion about the Constitution. “Reviewing the factual-evidential premises and dissenting the reasons led by the court of origin would necessarily require the review of facts and evidence and the interpretation of applicable infraconstitutional legislation,” the rapporteur wrote.
Presented in November last year, the appeal was rejected with the votes of Cristiano Zanin, Alexandre de Moraes and Cármen Lúcia, who accompanied Dino and formed a majority. Luiz Fux, in turn, is the only one who has not yet filed his vote in the virtual plenary and has until April 4 to speak out. The minister may ask for a view if he understands that he needs more time to analyze the case, which would suspend the trial for up to 90 days.
The virtual plenary is a modality in which ministers only record their votes in the Supreme System, without face -to -face deliberation.
The controversy revolves around hiring by Bolsonaro and his allies of ten advertising insertions that, instead of promoting his candidacy, direct the voter to critical content about Lula, such as the site “lulafflix.com”. For Dino, the strategy violated the electoral rules and burned the permitted purpose of campaign boost.
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“The represented used electoral propaganda at first regular, but which, at the end and to the cable, directed users the website in which it was biasedly printed advertising to the disadvantage of political competitor,” he said.
In the minister’s assessment, the practice configured a deliberate attempt to circumvent electoral legislation through subterfuge, with misuse of digital drive to attack political opponents.
Bolsonaro’s defense, in turn, claimed that the TSE decision would not have been properly substantiated and tried to frame the case as a constitutional matter to justify the extraordinary appeal. All arguments were rejected by Dino and the other ministers of the First Class.
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Remember the case
In 2023, the TSE decided to fine Bolsonaro at $ 10,000 for the boost of negative propaganda against Lula in elections 2022. The decision also reached the coalition of the former executive chief, for Brazil, who had to pay $ 30,000.
At the time, the board followed the opinion of the rapporteur, Benedito Gonçalves. According to him, ten advertisements were released on search sites that directed users to an address with negative content to Bolsonaro’s opponent.
In propaganda, there was no information about the CNPJ of the person responsible for the publication, nor a mention of the expression “electoral propaganda”, as determined by electoral legislation. Such factors also motivated the conviction.
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In his vote, Benedito pointed out that the electoral legislation prohibits the negative propaganda on the Internet on the Internet.
For the Corregedor General of Electoral Justice, the former president and his coalition “used a trap to circumvent the legal and jurisdictional prohibition in an affront to objective good faith through subterfuge, seeking to divert the attention of the netizen and lead him to the vast advertising material against political adversary”.
