Exclusive-Brazil courts step up meetings with military to ease election
concerns -sources
Send a link to a friend
[June 24, 2022]
By Ricardo Brito and Brad Haynes
BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's top courts
are stepping up meetings with military commanders to ease tensions and
reaffirm trust in the democratic process, four senior judiciary sources
said, as President Jair Bolsonaro stirs doubt about the integrity of
this year's elections.
Bolsonaro, a far-right former army captain trailing in opinion polls in
the presidential race, has previously made baseless allegations of
electoral fraud, attacked the federal electoral court, and floated the
idea of not accepting the result of the October vote.
Military leaders have repeatedly said Brazil's armed forces will respect
any result of the election, but military officials have also made
headlines by echoing Bolsonaro's comments about potential weaknesses in
Brazil's voting system.
To ease voter concerns and show wide institutional support for the
electoral process, Supreme Court Chief Justice Luiz Fux is planning to
meet with military brass, two of the sources said, requesting anonymity
to discuss the matter.
Fux plans to formally invite the commanders of the Brazilian army, navy
and air force for a meeting next month as part of his public agenda, one
source said.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Jun/24/images/ads/current/humanesociety_sda022411.png)
The Supreme Court's press office declined to comment. The Defense
Ministry did not respond to questions about preparations for meetings
with the Supreme Court.
Fux met last month with Defense Minister Paulo Sergio de Oliveira - an
army general in a traditionally civilian role. At the time, the ministry
said they discussed the armed forces' role in the electoral process and
the court said Oliveira expressed the military's commitment to
democracy.
There is otherwise little precedent for meetings between the Supreme
Court and active military officers to discuss electoral integrity,
underscoring the uncharted waters for a Brazilian democracy in its
fourth decade since military rule.
Bolsonaro has based much of his political career on nostalgia for the
1964-1985 dictatorship, disparaging Congress and the courts while
packing his government with current and former officers from the armed
forces, which he calls "my army."
The Supreme Court, whose justices take turns running the Superior
Electoral Court (TSE), Brazil's electoral authority, sees no risk of the
military backing a formal coup attempt, the sources said. But some
judges have voiced concern that the armed forces are lending their
credibility to Bolsonaro's attacks on the electoral process.
The TSE did not respond to a request for comment. The Defense Ministry
did not respond when asked about the criticism.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Jun/24/images/ads/current/charrons_bch_2022.png)
[to top of second column]
|
![](../images/062422PIX/news_l25.jpg)
Brazil's Vice President Hamilton Mourao, Supreme Federal Court
President Luiz Fux and President Jair Bolsonaro attend Army Day
celebrations, in Brasilia, Brazil April 19, 2022. REUTERS/Adriano
Machado/File Photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2017/Jul/22/images/ads/current/rohlfs_lda_072017.png)
RAMPING UP CRITICISM
Since taking office in 2019, Bolsonaro has often attacked the
Supreme Court. He calls some justices political foes, threatening to
ignore their rulings and saying they are working to deliver the
election to his leftist rival, former President Luiz Inacio Lula da
Silva, who leads polls by a wide margin.
As the October election approaches and his popularity
wanes, Bolsonaro has ramped up criticism of Brazil's electronic
voting urns, saying without evidence they are vulnerable to hacking
or manipulation. Congress ignored his demands to switch to paper
ballots.
Envoys from U.S. President Joe Biden have warned Bolsonaro's
government of concerns about undermining the credibility of the
electoral process – including Central Intelligence Agency Director
William Burns, Reuters reported in May.
Supreme Court justices leading the TSE electoral court have pushed
back publicly on Bolsonaro's criticism, invited a record number of
international election observers, and created an electoral
transparency commission this year with representatives of several
public institutions, including the military.
However, army officials participating in that commission soon
flagged an array of what they said were potential issues with the
voting system, echoing Bolsonaro's criticisms.
In a public response, the TSE said the military's concerns were
based on flawed assumptions and technical misunderstandings – but
for weeks the army's criticism of Brazil's voting system dominated
local headlines.
Bolsonaro argued the armed forces should be given access to voting
data so they can run a separate electoral tally. The results from
each voting district are already reported publicly on election
night.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Jun/24/images/ads/current/castlemanor_sda_FINANCIAL_2017.png)
This week the Defense Ministry and the federal police, who report to
Bolsonaro's justice minister, said they were preparing teams to
audit the nation's electronic voting systems, without giving details
of what that would entail.
Brazil's federal police and armed forces have long provided security
and logistical support for Brazilian elections, but never audited
election results.
(Reporting by Ricardo Brito and Brad Haynes, Editing by Rosalba
O'Brien)
[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |