The Attorney General Augusto Aras took a position on the false statements about the electoral system made by President Jair Bolsonaro Liberal Party (PL, in Portuguese) in a meeting with ambassadors, last Monday (18).
Aras, who is responsible for authorizing investigations against the president of the Republic, published a video on his personal channel on YouTube in which he reproduces excerpts from an interview he gave on July 11 this year. In the interview, he states that he has "confidence in the electronic ballot box and the Brazilian electoral system." "We do not accept the allegation of fraud because we have seen the success of the electronic ballot box over the years, especially when it comes to the integrity of the elections," Aras said.
In a statement published with the video, the Attorney General says that "in view of the latest events in the country (...) recalls the need for distance, independence and harmony between the Powers", although he does not mention Bolsonaro by name. According to Aras, "institutions exist to mediate and reconcile the sacred interests of the people, reducing the complexity of relations between rulers and ruled."
Jair Bolsonaro and Augusto Aras / Evaristo Sá / AFP
In a document released on Wednesday (20), 43 prosecutors demanded the attorney general to open an investigation against Bolsonaro for statements made during the meeting with ambassadors. The prosecutors argue that the retired captain carried out a disinformation campaign and attacked democratic freedom.
"The conduct of the President of the Republic affronts and demeans democratic freedom, with the clear purpose of destabilizing and discrediting the electoral process and institutions, and in this context, in thesis, terminates the practice of electoral offenses arising from the abuse of power," the letter states. So far, Aras has not moved to initiate investigations.
Bolsonaro has five days to explain speech to ambassadors
The president of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), minister Edson Fachin, has set a five-day deadline for Bolsonaro to give explanations about the speeches made to ambassadors at the Alvorada Palace.
The decision was taken in the context of representations that are running in the Court against the president, presented by Rede, PCdoB, PT and PDT. The acronyms accuse the retired captain of spreading disinformation, making advance electoral propaganda, and using a public media outlet, TV Brasil, in an improper way.
They also ask that the video of the broadcast of the meeting with the ambassadors be removed from the air. On Monday, a live broadcast made by the president on July 29, 2021, in which he makes false statements against the Brazilian electoral process. The content of the live is part of what was reproduced in a meeting of the retired captain with ambassadors held on Monday. The platform is considering whether to take down the broadcast of the meeting as well.
Edson Fachin / Nelson Jr./SCO/STF
According to Fachin, the facts raised by the parties "indicate that the alleged practice of disinformation turns against the integrity and reliability of the electoral process, especially the electronic ballot boxes. Therefore, "in view of the unprecedency and relevance of the matter, and based on art. 10 of the Code of Civil Procedure, I believe that both parties should manifest on the issue, as well as the Electoral Attorney General.
Rousseff calls Temer an "uncontested coup-plotter" and a traitor
Amid the approach between the Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB, in Portuguese) wings and the candidacy of Lula, Michel Temer statements on Thursday (21) created a polemic. In an interview with Uol, he denied having participated in the coup that overthrew Dilma in 2016, saying that the president is "very honest".
"There was no coup. I want to say that the former president is honest. I know, and I have been able to follow, that there is nothing that can call her corrupt. She is very honest. But there were political problems. She had difficulties in her relationship with society and with the National Congress. This set of factors took crowds to the streets," said the politician.
In response, Rousseff released a note on her website accusing Temer of having articulated "one of the greatest political betrayals of recent times." "I would be grateful if Mr. Michel Temer would no longer seek to clean up his undisputed condition of coup plotter using my undisputed personal and political honesty. It is precisely this quality that despises, rejects, and repudiates an evaluation that comes from someone who articulated one of the greatest political betrayals of recent times," she said.
According to her, her former vice president's betrayal was to the program elected at the polls in 2014. "The material evidence of political betrayal is expressed in the Debt Limit Amendment, the so-called labor reform and the approval of the International Parity Price for which he had no mandate. None of these projects were in our electoral commitments, on the contrary, they were contradictory to them. It is, therefore, a betrayal of the popular vote that elected him twice," he claims.
Edited by: Flávia Chacon
