On April 24th, Defense Minister General Paulo Sergio Nogueira stated his dismay and dismissal towards the recent comments made by Supreme Court Justice Luis Roberto Barroso regarding Brazil’s voting system and the country’s current president, Jair Bolsonaro. Barroso has claimed that the Armed Forces, in particular, received guidance by the government and president to discredit the voting process for the upcoming election in October. The tensions between the justice and president have been a common subject within the country. However, they have garnered new interest in recent weeks, in part due to Bolsonaro pardoning an ally whom the court had sentenced to about nine years of prison for anti-democratic threats.
“To state that the Armed Forces were instructed to attack the electoral system, without presenting any proof or evidence of who guided it or how it happened, is irresponsible and constitutes a serious offense,” the Defense Minister General said. Noguiera further said that Barroso’s claims have impacted “the ethics, harmony and respect” between Brazil’s institutions.
However, Human Rights Watch’s Brazil Director, Maria Laura Canineu, holds a similar stance as Barroso. “President Bolsonaro continues with his reckless and dangerous misinformation campaign against Brazil’s electoral system by repeating baseless claims of electoral fraud and attacking independent electoral and judicial authorities,” Canineu said.
Justice Barroso is an integral leader in the fight to combat fake news in Brazil, whose democracy has recently faced moments of instability, including protests asking for military interventions as well as armed forces demonstrations attempting to exert political pressure outside the Brazilian Congress and High Court. Barroso has highlighted social media as a significant source of the misinformation being circulated among the public (and future voters) regarding the country’s voting system. About 79% of the Brazilian population uses WhatsApp, the most popular social application Bolsonaro used in order to spread fake news in the 2018 election. Barroso additionally asked the then-Minister of Defense in August 2021 to send a military representative to participate in Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court’s External Transparency Commission. Supporters viewed this as an effort to evade the President’s attacks and negative declarations surrounding electronic voting machines.
It is crucial that figures like Justice Barroso continue to vocalize their concern about the current state of rule of law within Brazil. In order for the country’s democracy to prosper, Brazilians must continue to fight for a fair electoral process. If these legal institutions are no longer respected, injustice will kill peace and fairness, leaving Brazilians to mourn their freedom.