For lawyer and former judge Márlon Reis, creator of the Clean Record Law, “there was no illegality whatsoever”
Experts released in the early hours of this Monday, the 16th, their first impressions on whether the tribute paid by the Acadêmicos de Niterói school to the President of the Republic, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, would constitute an early electoral campaign for the PT member or not. Most thought no. But there was disagreement.
In addition to the opinions of politicians on social media (for or against the parade), the Political Broadcast sought insights from legal experts on social media about whether or not the case constituted early pro-Lula electoral propaganda.
For lawyer and former judge Márlon Reis, creator of the Clean Record Law, “there was no illegality whatsoever”. “I just watched the Acadêmicos de Niterói parade. The electoral law requires an explicit request for votes to characterize advance propaganda. The rule expressly authorizes the exaltation of positive aspects of pre-candidates. There was no illegality whatsoever”, he said in his account on X.
Lawyer André Matheus, master in law from UERJ and doctoral candidate in law from PUC-Rio, also stated that he did not see elements that characterize advance propaganda in the parade honoring Lula.
“The legislation and TSE resolutions are very clear in allowing a pre-candidate to receive tributes and extol personal qualities, as long as there is no explicit request for a vote or the use of so-called ‘magic words’ that summon voters ahead of time. As Carnival is a cultural event protected by freedom of expression and there was no use of public money for electoral purposes in the plot, the tribute falls within the normal democratic game”, he argued.
For constitutional lawyer and university professor Rodolfo Prado, “to have an effect on Electoral Law, the connection with the election is essential: the act must be able to influence the normality and legitimacy of the elections.”
“Without this vector, there may be administrative irregularity, but not electoral illegality. The Electoral Court analyzes three axes: Concrete electoral purpose; Improper use of the public structure; Severity of the impact; Was there this in the parade? No”, argued Prado in X.
Divergence
Lawyer and commentator André Marsiglia, in turn, was emphatic in saying that the Acadêmicos de Niterói parade constituted advance propaganda in favor of the PT member.
“It wasn’t just early electoral propaganda; it was the most brazen I’ve ever seen, worthy of illustrating electoral law manuals as an example of illicit activity. There was also abuse of economic power and use of the machine, as the propaganda was financed with public money”, he declared in X.
“Going down to the avenue also constituted an abuse of political power, he is the President of the Republic, he cannot use his position to campaign. This parade is a combination of electoral crimes”, added Marsiglia.
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