An Attempt To Impeach A Supreme Court Justice In Brasil

 

BRAZIL

Round Two

President Jair Bolsonaro has asked Brazil’s Senate to impeach a Supreme Court justice — a move unprecedented in Brazil’s history – in his escalating war on the judiciary and the electoral system, the Washington Post reported.

Senate’s president, Rodrigo Pacheco, will now decide whether there are grounds to open an investigation into Justice Alexandre de Moraes. The president’s impeachment filing alleges that the judge has carried out investigations with partisan and anti-democratic bias while acting as both investigator and judge. It also accuses him of violating free speech protections.

Since early last year, Bolsonaro has grown increasingly incensed over rulings that clarify that mayors and governors – and not the president – have the jurisdiction to impose restrictions to slow the pandemic. Bolsonaro, a virus-denier, has resisted any restrictions on people or businesses.

He escalated attacks on members of the judiciary following a decision by the electoral court on Aug. 3 to investigate Bolsonaro for his comments undermining the electoral system and de Moraes’ decision to include the president in the Supreme Court’s investigation into the spread of fake news. On Aug. 13, de Moraes also ordered the imprisonment of Roberto Jefferson, a close Bolsonaro ally and president of the Brazilian Labor Party, for also suggesting the voting system is easily manipulated on social media.

The Senate has never initiated an impeachment investigation against a Supreme Court justice and it’s unlikely they will this time, Paulo Calmon, a political science professor at the University of Brasilia, told the Associated Press: “This has a symbolic effect for his base…”

With his approval ratings sliding, Bolsonaro has insisted the country’s electronic vote system is prone to fraud – without presenting any evidence – and insisted that printed vote receipts would allow for auditing results, asking lawmakers to amend the constitution.

That has prompted concern he may be laying the groundwork to challenge election results. Recent polls have indicated that former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who is expected to run in next year’s race, would win handily in a runoff.

Meanwhile, in a rebuff to Bolsonaro, lower house lawmakers voted against the proposal to adopt printed vote receipts at electronic ballot boxes earlier this month.