Supreme Court Justice Edson Fachin, who presides over Brazil’s electoral courts, has given Jair Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party two days to explain the alleged illegal boosting of campaign content online. The president’s campaign spent BRL 742,000 (USD 142,000) to boost 15 videos on July 22 and 23, before his candidacy was made official.
A complaint was filed by a group of opposition parties, including frontrunner Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s Workers’ Party. They claim that the Liberal Party spent 22 times more per ad boost than other parties, on average.
Earlier today, Chief Justice Fachin declared that society will not tolerate “electoral denialism.” He didn’t mention President Bolsonaro by name, though he was referring to the head of state’s constant attacking of Brazil’s electoral process.
A few hours later, Liberal Party chair Valdemar Costa Neto met with Justice Fachin in an attempt to smooth things over between the president’s party and the Supreme Court. He said the Liberal Party will participate in the election monitoring process but will not cause “tumult.”
As The Brazilian Report showed in Tuesday’s Brazil Daily newsletter, since Mr. Bolsonaro’s candidacy was made official he has started to follow stricter electoral rules. He will no longer be able to spread disinformation about the voting process, for example, under penalty of having his candidacy brought into question.
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