President of the country’s Superior Electoral Court wants to shield the electoral process from criticism. In 2022, Jair Bolsonaro carried out systematic attacks considered criminal against electronic voting machines
Kassio Nunes Marques, president of Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court (TSE), will invite the European Union (EU) to monitor this year’s Brazilian electoral process, Folha de São Paulo reported. In October, the country will go through local elections (the governors of each state will be elected), legislative elections (deputies and senators) and presidential elections.
This may be the first time that the EU has a presence in the Brazilian democratic process. The South American country’s authorities are negotiating the sending of an Electoral Expert Mission, which includes independent experts who monitor the elections for two months and, based on this, produce a report with recommendations.
Another delegation option would be the Electoral Observation Mission, which has more professionals and stays longer in the country being analyzed. However, explains Folha de São Paulo, there is not enough time to organize this structure.
“Electoral observation missions are regulated in a TSE resolution and observe strict criteria due to the various activities carried out by observers, such as visits to polling stations,” said the court. The invitation should be sent in the next few days.
More supervision to avoid controversies
Nunes Marques wants to expand international monitoring to ‘shield’ the electoral process from possible questions to the results or electronic voting machines. In 2022, Jair Bolsonaro, who nominated the current president of the TSE to the Federal Supreme Court, articulated, with the help of allies, systematic criticism of the Brazilian democratic process. The former President’s actions were considered criminal, as they were intended to mobilize public opinion to legitimize the attempted coup d’état. In that election, however, the then head of state was against the invitation to the European Union.
Furthermore, the Bolsonaro family remains active in seeking international support during the democratic process. During his participation in the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in the United States, Flávio Bolsonaro, current presidential candidate, asked countries to “apply diplomatic pressure so that institutions [brasileiras] function properly”, but rejected the idea that he wants international interference. “If our people can express themselves freely on social media and if the votes are counted correctly, we will win”, he said during his speech.
The intervention was criticized by Brazilian media outlets, including more conservative traditional newspapers, such as Estado de São Paulo, which wrote in an editorial that “the Bolsonarist coup seems to be really genetic”. Political analyst Russell Schaffer told Expresso in April that this statement creates “an excuse for defeat and a scenario for a potential coup or mass protests”.
The Bolsonaros also want to count on the support of the United States during the elections. Flávio and Eduardo – accompanied by communicator Paulo Figueiredo – met with Donald Trump at the beginning of the month. After the meeting, the American government declared the Primeiro Comando da Capital and the Comando Vermelho, Brazilian criminal organizations, as terrorists. This decision by the United States did not please the Brazilian government, which claims that the measure puts the country’s sovereignty into question. A trade investigation was also completed, and the US Department of Commerce proposed new 25% tariffs against Brazilian products.
