Brazilian court bans Senator Bolsonaro’s ad about Lula — The Rio Times

Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court (TSE) has barred Senator Flávio Bolsonaro’s election campaign from showing again an advertisement that linked a statement by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to violence against children. TSE Justice Estela Aranha issued the decision on October 16, The Rio Times reports.

What the court found

Lula’s side asked the court to intervene. The ban applies to the Liberal Party (PL) and Bolsonaro himself. According to the outlet, Aranha concluded that the video took Lula’s words out of context and went beyond political criticism.

The advertisement used an excerpt from the president’s speech delivered on September 28 in Belém. Lula spoke about prostate cancer screenings and compared men’s and women’s attitudes toward preventive medical examinations. The video paired this excerpt with a phrase saying that children should not be touched from an early age.

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Election context

Aranha noted that this presentation could have created the impression among viewers that Lula was speaking about child abuse. According to CNN Brasil, the court called it a discursive construction rather than a different interpretation of an indisputable fact.

The second round of Brazil’s presidential election is scheduled for October 25 — nine days after the decision. Incumbent President Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro, a senator from the state of Rio de Janeiro, are expected to compete in it. At the time of publication, Bolsonaro’s campaign had not commented on the court’s decision, Estadão reported.