International

Brazil: Court bans Bolsonaro from running in elections until 2030

Photo: AP

June 30 |

Brazil’s top electoral court on Friday voted overwhelmingly in favor of banning former President Jair Bolsonaro from holding public office until 2030, over allegations that he abused his power in last year’s tense election.

Four judges on the court voted in favor of convicting Bolsonaro, who narrowly lost the October election to leftist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, of abuse of political power and misuse of the media, while one did not.

While the judges who voted earlier could still change their minds, Bolsonaro’s fate appears to be sealed.

Bolsonaro, a former army captain who narrowly lost the October election to leftist rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, is accused of creating a nationwide movement to overturn the result, which culminated in the invasion of government buildings in Brasilia on January 8 by thousands of his supporters.

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The chief judge in the case, Benedito Goncalves, voted earlier this week to make the former president ineligible for eight years, saying he had “used the meeting with ambassadors to sow doubts and incite conspiracy theories.”

Bolsonaro denies wrongdoing and has already said he plans to appeal to the Supreme Court.

“I have not attacked the voting system, I only showed its possible flaws,” Bolsonaro said in an interview with radio station Itatiaia on Friday, ahead of the trial. “This trial makes no sense.”

An avowed admirer of former U.S. President Donald Trump, Bolsonaro was criticized internationally for his lackluster management of the Amazon rainforest, his laissez-faire approach to COVID-19 restrictions and his evidence-free attacks on Brazil’s electoral system.

The TSE trial is part of a broader reckoning in Brazil with the fallout from the country’s most painful election in a generation. As the former president faces electoral court scrutiny, many of his former allies are being questioned by lawmakers in a congressional investigation into the Jan. 8 riots.

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Bolsonaro is not at risk of jail time in the election case, although the 68-year-old separately faces multiple separate criminal investigations that could still put him behind bars.

Related Topics:Bolsonaro Brazil elections 2030

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The president filed the suit in December in federal court in Florida, alleging defamation and violations of a law governing business practices when the program was broadcast ahead of the 2024 election.

Trump is seeking $5 billion in damages for each of the two claims.

Lawyers for the BBC unsuccessfully asked the court to dismiss the case, arguing that Trump had not suffered a “legally recognizable harm,” since the investigative program Panorama, which included the edited footage, aired outside the United States.

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Both sides remain in communication regarding the matter, the spokesperson said.

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“Both parties should work together to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, injecting greater certainty and stability into China–U.S. economic and trade cooperation, as well as into the global economy,” he said.

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Trump administration to end special immigration operation in Minnesota

The administration of Donald Trump is bringing to a close its special operation targeting illegal immigration in the northern state of Minnesota, border czar Tom Homan announced Thursday, following weeks of unrest and the fatal shootings of two activists by federal agents.

Thousands of federal officers had been deployed to Minnesota in December to carry out large-scale raids against undocumented immigrants.

The operations triggered strong reactions from residents and advocacy groups, leading to daily confrontations and the deaths of two people who were shot by federal agents.

“I proposed, and President Trump agreed, that this special operation should end in Minnesota,” Homan said during a press conference in the state capital, Minneapolis.

“A significant drawdown began this week and will continue into next week,” he added.

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Homan indicated that similar enforcement efforts could be launched in other cities.

“Next week we will redeploy the agents currently here back to their home stations or to other parts of the country where they are needed. But we will continue to enforce immigration laws,” he said.