House to go ahead with vote on paper ballots after military parade

House Speaker Arthur Lira said on Tuesday afternoon that he would not postpone the floor vote which will likely bury the bill to reinstate paper ballots as a supplement to Brazil’s 100-percent electronic voting system. 

Mr. Lira had considered postponing the vote after President Jair Bolsonaro staged a small military parade in front of the Congress and Supreme Court buildings, but lawmakers argued that this would be a significant sign of weakness. The president has threatened to prevent elections from happening should paper ballots not be introduced — but Mr. Lira minimized the parade as a “tragic coincidence.”

Speaking to reporters, the House Speaker said President Bolsonaro promised to accept the result of the Congressional vote regardless of the outcome. However, history suggests otherwise: Mr. Bolsonaro has repeatedly returned to his radical stances, just weeks or days after brief bouts of moderation.

And, at every turn, Mr. Bolsonaro shifts the goalposts a little further down the line, further eroding democracy. Columnist Benjamin Fogel has called the Bolsonaro way of doing politics a mix between “Groundhog Day” and “Friday the 13th.”

Believing that this time will be different and that he’ll stick to his promise seems naïve, reckless – or both.

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