Brazil’s electoral court rejects Bolsonaro campaign’s motions — The Rio Times

Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court has rejected urgent motions from the campaign of Senator Flávio Bolsonaro seeking to restrict the use of trade union structures in the campaign and campaign materials at universities. At the same time, the court did not close proceedings concerning the alleged use of trade union resources in the election campaign, The Rio Times reports.

Electoral court decision

The decision was published on October 16, nine days before the second round of the presidential election scheduled for October 25. Electoral inspector Ricardo Villas Bôas Cueva declined to prohibit trade unions from using their infrastructure for campaigning and to restrict the placement of campaign materials at universities.

The judge also denied a request to order Meta, X, and Google to preserve data on social media posts, considering it overly broad. According to the publication, Cueva noted that supporting or opposing a candidate does not in itself constitute unlawful campaigning, and that general bans could restrict freedom of speech, association, and trade union activity.

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Deadlines for parties to the case

The Bolsonaro campaign filed a lawsuit against President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, and 54 representatives of trade unions, trade union federations, student organizations, and civic movements. The entities mentioned in the case include the National Union of Students of Brazil.

The court noted that the lawsuit did not individually describe actions or provide legal arguments concerning 37 of the 54 people. The Bolsonaro campaign has 72 hours to specify its allegations against these individuals. Lula, Alckmin, and five trade union leaders were given five days to submit their defense.

The Bolsonaro campaign claims that these organizations’ support for Lula may constitute an abuse of economic and political influence. Proceedings concerning these claims are ongoing, and Cueva’s decision does not establish whether electoral rules were violated.