Brazilian protesters in Rio de Janeiro. (Reproduction/Twitter)
By Fernando de Castro in Brazil
Since the end of the presidential election in Brazil, which resulted in the victory of socialist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, voters of conservative president Jair Bolsonaro have been protesting against the election results.
The Brazilian electoral process happens in a completely electronic and unverifiable manner, like the system used by the Dominion. Brazilian voters distrust the fairness of this year’s elections.
The Superior Electoral Court, responsible for conducting the elections in Brazil, is accused of having adopted a biased posture during the dispute.
On many occasions, the Court prevented President Jair Bolsonaro’s campaign from disclosing negative facts about Lula da Silva and other information against leftists. Even videos of da Silva defending abortion were prevented from being aired critically by Bolsonaro’s campaign.
Minister Alexandre de Moraes, president of the Superior Electoral Court, is publicly known as a Jair Bolsonaro opponent. During the election, de Moraes issued several measures against the president’s campaign, including acts of censorship – which is absolutely forbidden by the Brazilian Federal Constitution.
After the elections were over, a huge portion of Brazilians began to distrust the transparency of the electronic voting process. The population’s distrust increased even more after the release of an inspection report conducted by the Armed Forces.
The Armed Forces were invited to participate in the inspection of the electronic ballot boxes. At the end of the dispute, the military published a report on the inspection.
In the document released by the Armed Forces, the military argued that they were prevented from fully inspecting the voting system and presented some points that indicate serious vulnerabilities in the electronic ballot boxes.
Massive protests Since the end of elections, several people have been protesting at the doors of military barracks around the country. They are claiming a vigorous solution from the Armed Forces against the electoral system that validated the election of Lula da Silva.
The protests are peaceful and are attended by people of various age groups. They are requesting that the Armed Forces guarantee a transparent electoral process. But the annulment of the electoral result isn’t a unanimous claim.
President Jair Bolsonaro has remained reclusive since the end of the elections, rarely speaking on his social networks.
*You can follow Fernando de Castro on Instagram: @fcastron