Explaining Brazil #134: Who tried to hack the Brazilian election?

In the previous episode of this show, we talked about what Brazil can teach the U.S. about holding elections. Besides making voting an easier process — with election day on Sundays and free public transportation available — the Brazilian system is also 100 percent electronic and almost completely fraud-proof. And we know the full results of the election in a couple of hours.

But then came Election Day in Brazil — and for a moment, we feared we might have to issue a retraction.

After a tepid campaign, Election Day ended up being quite eventful. And this week we will explain what happened.

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On this episode:

• Marcelo Cárgano is a digital and data privacy law expert at Abe Giovanini Advogados. He has degrees in Journalism and Law from the University of São Paulo. Mr. Cárgano was a Monbukagashou fellowship researcher at the Osaka University in Japan between 2010 and 2013, where he obtained his Master’s Degree. He currently does research on Brazil’s data protection legislation.

Background reading:

• Before hackers tried to take Brazil’s electoral system off the air, Brazil’s second-highest court was shut down after digital attacks — putting the Brazilian government on alert.
• Legal scholars Michael Mohallem and Pedro Campos explain why you know you can trust Brazil’s electronic voting system.
• Delays, hackers, and surprises marked Brazil’s 2020 municipal election.
• What we learned from the election results.
• For a foreign audience, mayoral races may seem too parochial, but they actually have a significant impact on national politics. And what happens in November 2020 will have ripple effects on the 2022 presidential election.
• Municipal elections highlight challenges facing Brazil’s left-wing, writes Débora Álvares.
• Listen to Explaining Brazil episode #113: Covid-19 made Brazilian elections more exposed to fake news.
• Brazil’s epidemic of political violence gets worse ahead of municipal elections, writes Renato Alves.

Do you have a suggestion for our next Explaining Brazil podcast? Drop us a line at podcast@brazilian.report

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