05/26/2024 – 18:37
Although the electoral campaign officially began only in August, the main pre-candidates for Mayor of São Paulo “anticipated” this year’s dispute with actions in the Electoral Court. There are 20 representations for alleged dissemination of fraudulent research or advance campaign, according to a survey by the Estadão done last week. The actions are being processed in the 1st and 2nd Electoral Courts. To date, there have been four cases for fraud in electoral research and 16 for early campaigning.
According to the Elections Law, the punishments are mild. If someone discloses fraudulent research, they will be subject to imprisonment for six months to one year and payment of a fine. Under the Brazilian criminal system, these detention sentences are never served in the closed regime, that is, the convicted person will not be imprisoned. Anticipating a campaign has an even lighter punishment, as experts assess, and the convicted person will only pay a fine of between R$5,000 and R$25,000. “Whoever has economic power, R$25,000 is nothing. For those who have economic power, it is worth resorting to non-compliance”, said a judge consulted by the Estadão. “Since you want to restrict it, let them put (in legislation) a decent penalty”, he adds.
This year, the “animosity” between the main candidates in São Paulo draws attention, as assessed by electoral lawyer Alberto Rollo. But there is an explanation for the legal dispute at the electoral level. “There is no payment of costs and no succumbence, which is an amount of fees (for lawyers). In other words, it ends up stimulating a proliferation of lawsuits, because whoever loses does not have to pay costs or fees”, explains Rollo.
Expenses for offices specializing in electoral law are covered by political parties, which use funds from the party fund for legal actions. Contracts and invoices must be included in the financial statements sent to the Electoral Court.
Subtitles, however, should not be exaggerated. This is because they may end up suffering a penalty for litigating in bad faith. “There is exaggeration, yes, but the remedy is bad faith litigation, which the Court can impose a fine on,” said Rollo. These cases occur when there is an abuse of actions that are not at all suitable for starting a process.
The São Paulo electoral ‘ring’
The main target of the actions so far is federal deputy Guilherme Boulos (PSOL). He appears in five lawsuits filed by MDB, the party of Ricardo Nunes, current mayor who will seek re-election. Subsequently, Novo, whose pre-candidate is Marina Helena, filed four lawsuits against the person. The PSB, owned by federal deputy Tabata Amaral, was responsible for two cases against Boulos. The PSDB also filed a lawsuit against the federal deputy.
One of the first lawsuits, in February, was filed by Novo against Boulos. On the occasion, during Carnival, the party claimed to have identified advance propaganda by publishing, in fans, the phrases “Stay, there will be cake” and “SP + tasty with cake” in posts on social media. However, the case was dismissed due to lack of evidence. The Electoral Court said that the links with the photos were damaged. Screen prints were provided, but without date and time, for example, which were considered essential data for the action to progress.
Boulos was also the target of the harshest sentence to date. In the first instance, judge Antonio Maria Patiño Zorz, from the 1st Electoral Zone of São Paulo, ordered the person to pay R$ 53.2 thousand “for the irregular dissemination of results of electoral research carried out on social networks”. On the occasion, the parliamentarian released data from a survey carried out by Real Time Big Data, commissioned by Record TV, with the title “Boulos leads with 34% against any Bolsonarist”. The publication was made on Instagram and Facebook in bold letters and mixed data from various scenarios, omitting candidates. Boulos did not agree with the decision, which he classified as out of standard, and appealed to the Regional Electoral Court (TRE-SP), which analyzes the case.
The second with the most lawsuits is the current mayor Ricardo Nunes. The four actions were filed by PSOL. In one of the cases, Boulos’ party took Nunes to court after the emedebista’s profile thanked him and said he was happy with the results of a survey by the Paraná Pesquisa institute for the race for São Paulo City Hall. The case was dismissed and PSOL appealed to TRE-SP.
The only case against Tabata Amaral was filed by the MDB, when the parliamentarian used deepfake against Nunes. The caption classified the publication as “juvenile and illegal”. The video was taken down by the deputy’s team, who said it respected electoral standards.
In a publication on the networks, Tabata criticized the current head of the Executive Branch. The recording, however, shows Nunes’ face on the body of the character “Ken”, in a scene in the 2023 film Barbie. Digital manipulation is prohibited, according to a resolution from the Superior Electoral Court. Tabata recorded the video after information released by GloboNews stated that Nunes’ team calls her the “Barbie of politics”.
The case was taken to court and dismissed. Judge Paulo Eduardo de Almeida Sorci, from the 2nd Electoral Zone of São Paulo, did not consider that there had been “fabricated or manipulated content to disseminate notoriously untrue or decontextualized facts with the potential to cause damage to the balance of the election or the integrity of the electoral process”.
The judge also mentioned that “political criticism is widely admitted by electoral legislation, extremely relevant to the debate of ideas and choice of the best option by the voter in the ongoing contest, a typical exercise of freedom of expression in the specific electoral sphere, extended to ordinary citizens in your personal manifestation of thought.” The MDB appealed the decision and the case is being processed in the second instance.
Kim Kataguri (União), federal deputy, was also taken to court by the PSOL, which held the parliamentarian responsible for banners spread across São Paulo against Boulos’ pre-candidacy. Among the phrases, “Boulos cannot invade São Paulo”. The court ruled that using public property to place banners is illegal, however, the request for an early campaign was dismissed due to lack of evidence against Kataguiri.
Presidents appear in actions
The pre-election legal clash in one of the largest cities in the world also placed the President of the Republic, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) and former President Michel Temer (MDB) among the targets of lawsuits. Temer was called into action for praising current mayor Nunes during an inauguration at São Paulo City Hall.
For PSOL, the case was an early campaign. However, the court ruled in favor of Temer, who presented a defense and claimed that praise is not an explicit request for a vote. Another point raised by the former president’s defense was the fact that PSOL was alone in the active pole, which is irregular, given the federation formed with Rede. The case was also taken to TRE-SP.
In the case of Lula, the Novo, PSDB and MDB parties took action in response to the request for a vote on Labor Day, on May 1st, in the parking lot of Arena Corinthians, in the east zone of the capital of São Paulo, made by Lula to Boulos. The requests, made in different actions, but with the same demands, were joined and will be judged together.
“Nobody will defeat this guy here if you vote for Boulos for mayor of São Paulo in the next elections. And I’m going to make an appeal: every person who voted for Lula, in 1989, in 1994, in 1998, in 2006, in 2010 (that year, the candidate was Dilma Rousseff) and in 2022, has to vote for Boulos for mayor of São Paulo”, said the president at the time. The Public Electoral Ministry (MPE) asked the Court to impose a fine close to the limit of R$25,000 to the current head of the Executive Branch.
Candidates agree to legal action
O Estadão sought out all pre-candidates with parties involved in legal proceedings. Marina Helena stated that the actions are important and should result in the removal of ministers and President Lula. “We only take legal action when opponents commit clear infractions. This was the case of Lula and Boulos on May 1st, when they used money from Culture, from the Rouanet Law, to hold a political rally. In a serious country, this use of the public sector would result in the removal of ministers or the president,” she said.
Tabata Amaral said he will continue to take action against opponents in cases of disrespect for the law. “The way to report possible irregularities is through justice. When Boulos contravenes the electoral law or Nunes commits illegal acts as mayor, the Court is called upon to intervene to ensure respect for the rules of the game. When I was unfairly prosecuted in this pre-campaign, I had the opportunity to defend myself and the court ruled me right. I have full confidence in the Brazilian Judiciary”, stated the deputy.
Kim Kataguiri stated that “the mechanism is valid, but it is up to the Court to determine what is valid or not. In the case of PSOL’s action, the Court ruled it unfounded.” Boulos and Nunes did not respond.
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