Bolsonaro accuses Brazilian Supreme Court of trying to prevent his reelection

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, charged again on Wednesday against some judges of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) by accusing them of “behaving like teenagers” and acting to make him “ineligible with the stroke of a pen” given next October’s elections, when he will foreseeably seek reelection.

Bolsonaro, leader of the Brazilian right-wing and who is on an official trip to Russia, accused justices Luís Roberto Barroso, Edson Fachin, and Alexandre de Moraes, members of STF and also of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), of perpetrating a “persecution” and seeking narratives to “wear down the government.”

“They are people who behave like teenagers (…) It seems to me that they have an interest. In the first place, to look for a way to make me ineligible with the stroke of a pen. The other is to elect their candidate, Lula,” he said in an interview with Jovem Pan radio.

Bolsonaro’s statements come days after magistrates expressed concern about possible illegal cyber activities during the country’s October presidential election, in which former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is listed as the top favorite.

“Those three people (Barroso, Fachin, and De Moraes) are not collaborating with Brazil in absolutely nothing. They want a narrative to wear down the government,” he said.

The head of state also accused the three judges of carrying out a “persecution” against him, commenting on some of the several lawsuits against him in the Supreme Court.

“Unfortunately, we have three magistrates of the STF acting this way, with a clear persecution against me, very clear,” he added.

During the interview, Bolsonaro also rejected Fachin’s statements that the Brazilian Electoral Justice could already be “under attack” by cyber hackers, whose primary origin would be Russia because, according to the judge, the country does not have “adequate control legislation.”

“It is sad and embarrassing for me to receive an accusation as if Russia behaved as a digital terrorist country,” stressed the president when regretting the magistrate’s statement.

With information from EFE