The PT official site notes that a criminal complaint has been filed with the Prosecutor’s Office and another with the Supreme Electoral Court (TSE) in order to take appropriate administrative measures and ensure the security of the entire 2022 election process.
Similarly, an application was made to the TSE’s internal control body, bearing in mind that Bolsonaro continues to make speeches aimed at discrediting Brazil’s electoral system.
The initiatives relate to the ex-soldier’s speeches on April 8 in the municipalities of Pelotas and Passo Fundo, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.
On that occasion, he stated: “We made it easier for Brazilians to buy firearms. In recent years we have doubled the number of firearms in Brazil. I always tell them: the armed people will never be enslaved. They will respond to any dictator who seeks to steal their people’s freedom.”
For the PT, Bolsonaro’s proactive role in expanding access to war artifacts is motivated by the creation of militias to violently support his political and electoral interests.
According to lawyers Eugenio Aragão and Cristiano Zanin, who signed the legal documents, “the actions of the President of the Republic are an encouragement to challenge the rule of law through political violence.”
An attack that represents “a true political asset of Bolsonaro and a threat to the electoral system, making action by the electoral tribunal urgent”.
The lawyers call for a joint interpretation of the former captain’s speeches, “not just because they were delivered on the same day, but because by their very nature they express a long-term project and strategy.”
Also, “apparent public fueling of distrust in institutions, in the electoral justice system, and in the democratic process at large.”
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to peaceful peaceful assembly and association, Clément Nyaletsossi Voule, warned last week that political violence is destroying democracy in Brazil and called for action to ensure a safe environment during October’s elections.
“The biggest concern is that there will be acts of violence during the election process … and some political actors are unaware of the legitimacy of the election results,” Voule told reporters.
To date, former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the PT’s pre-candidate, is leading all opinion polls towards the vote where Bolsonaro hopes to be re-elected.
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