Happy Friday! Today, Bolsonaro promises (and fails) to produce evidence of electoral fraud. Rio plans full reopening, but experts say it is premature. Covid figures creeping up in five states.
Bolsonaro serves up a red herring
President Jair Bolsonaro tried to build anticipation ahead of his weekly Facebook live broadcast last night, claiming he would present ironclad proof that Brazil’s electronic voting is rigged, despite the fact it has faced no credible fraud allegation in over two decades of use.
- Instead, the president merely showed a series of social media videos, which have long been proven to contain misinformation.
Why it matters. Trailing in the polls, Mr. Bolsonaro is trying to emulate Donald Trump in the U.S. by challenging the results of Brazil’s elections, should he lose next year. Indeed, surveys show that the odds are stacked against the president.
- “The president’s push for the return of paper ballots as an audit tool to the electronic vote is nothing but a red herring,” said political analyst Filipe Campante, speaking to our Explaining Brazil podcast. “Give him that and he will come up with another reason to challenge results.”
- The Bolsonaro family showed support for the January...