Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced on Friday, June 30, to eight years of ineligibility for “abuse of power”, because of the “false” information he disseminated on the electronic voting system before his defeat in the 2022 ballot.
The judgment of the seven magistrates of the Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE) of Brasilia, decided by five votes to two, deprives Jair Bolsonaro, 68, of a presidential candidacy in 2026 and opens the battle for his succession within the right and the extreme right. His defense, however, has indicated that it will appeal.
This speech on a supposed vulnerability, conducive to fraud, of the electoral system, this nostalgic of the military dictatorship (1964-1985) will have hammered it during his campaign. He will have stirred up the anger of his most radical supporters who, on January 8, a few days after Lula’s inauguration, stormed and ransacked the seats of the executive, legislative and judicial powers in Brasilia.
Bolsonarism more rooted than ever
The question of the leadership of the Bolsonaro camp now arises. No figure is needed for the time being as a remedy, but Bolsonarism is more rooted than ever. Right-wing and far-right parties are even stronger in Parliament than they were under Jair Bolsonaro and the latter narrowly lost, with only a 1.8% gap in the second round against Lula, back after two terms (2003-2010).
Jair Bolsonaro has other legal trials ahead of him. In addition to fifteen proceedings before the electoral court, the former leader is targeted by the Supreme Court in five cases, in particular for his alleged role as the inspiration for the attacks of January 8. He faces jail.