RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Workers’ Party (PT) filed three complaints Tuesday (1) with the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) for early negative publicity by political groups and voters through the installation of posters criticizing former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The self-proclaimed Conservative Movement of Rondonópolis facilitated the installation (MT), the Friends of Sergipe Street group in Divinópolis (MG), and the United for the Fatherland group from Imperatriz (MA).
The strategy of these groups was to put Lula da Silva’s image on billboards with messages that called him a “traitor to the fatherland,” a “communist thief,” and a “bandit.”
A total of eight billboards were registered and reported by the party to the TSE. The soon-to-be 77-year-old Lula da Silva has not yet made his candidacy for president official, it is said.
According to the PT’s defense, made by lawyers Eugenio Aragon and Cristiano Zanin of Teixeira Zanin Martins Advogados and Aragon and Ferraro Advogados, this is impromptu electoral propaganda, prohibited by Article 36 of Law 9.504/1997.
The petitions highlight that the legislation establishes two hypotheses to be considered anticipatory propaganda: explicit solicitation to vote or the dissemination of electoral content through prohibited means.
Thus, the criticism of Lula would fall into the second category since the use of billboards to disseminate electoral propaganda is prohibited not only during the pre-election campaign but throughout the electoral period.
At the time of Lula da Silva’s arrest and trial, the catchwords “traitor to the fatherland,” “communist thief,” and “bandit” were on everyone’s lips, including the newspapers.
These messages do not praise the qualities of any previous candidate but devalue the image of the PT, the lawyers complain. In their view, configuring such negative early propaganda also means prohibited by the election justice.
“It is imperative that the TSE arrange for the removal of the billboard that is the subject of this representation by those responsible, since the mere placement of the artifact already spreads negative propaganda for former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and should be removed as soon as possible to avoid even greater dissemination,” reads one of the petitions.
In one of the cases, the party also asks to remove content posted by social network users who photographed and disseminated the erected billboards.
The question arises whether it is morally okay that Brazilians should not be reminded of what Lula de Silva did to the country.