Minister Kassio Nunes Marques, of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), denied a request presented by allies of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to prevent the screening of the film “Dark Horse” during the 2026 electoral period. The decision was published on Friday, 12.
The action had been presented by federal deputy Rogério Correia (PT-MG) and lawyer Marco Aurélio de Carvalho, from Prerrogativas. They asked the TSE to prohibit the screening, distribution, advertising, promotion and circulation of the feature film during the pre-campaign, the electoral campaign, the first round and a possible second round.
When analyzing the case, Nunes Marques did not examine the merits of the allegations. The minister understood that the authors did not have the legitimacy to present the representation before the TSE.
According to the decision, the Court’s jurisprudence establishes that, to propose this type of action in a presidential contest, it is not enough to be a candidate in an election. The author of the representation must run for office in the same electoral district as those represented.
“In the present case, the representatives are not contesting elections in the national constituency, considering that Rogério Correia de Moura Baptista is a federal deputy and pre-candidate for the same position only in the state of Minas Gerais, while Marco Aurélio de Carvalho, a lawyer, did not even claim an intention to run in the 2026 Elections”, stated the minister in the decision.
The authors stated that the work, described as a biopic of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL), could function as an instrument of early electoral propaganda in favor of senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ), named in the action as a pre-candidate for the Presidency of the Republic.
The petition also mentioned information released by the press about the financing of the production and alleged the existence of signs of irregularities related to the origin of the resources used in the film.
As revealed by the Intercept Brasil website and confirmed by EstadãoFlávio Bolsonaro asked for a contribution equivalent to US$24 million, under the argument that the amounts would be used to sponsor the production of the film. The information appears in dialogues found by the PF on banker Daniel Vorcaro’s cell phone, which also indicate payments worth US$10 million.
In addition to suspending the exhibition of the work, the authors requested the presentation of contracts, financial documents and information about financiers, sponsors and others involved in the project.
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The authors also made reference to a TSE decision in the 2022 elections that suspended the release of a documentary about Jair Bolsonaro during the presidential campaign.
