Opinion: Brazil’s self-proclaimed censorship czar Moraes speaks of “eradicating” Bolsonaro’s party

(Opinion) During the trial of an appeal of the Liberal Party (PL, right), of President Jair Bolsonaro, against a fine arbitrarily imposed by himself of R$22 (US$4) million fine for alleged “bad faith litigation”, the president of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), self-proclaimed censorship czar Alexandre de Moraes, spoke of “eradicating” the acronym.

Aren’t prosecutors out to ruin people, and judges supposed to do justice? Yes, but not in Brazil.

And isn’t Congress, as the legislative branch, there to protect its own? Yes, but not in Brazil.

And isn’t that why the army is armed, to stop abuses of power immediately, as seen in Peru with Pedro Castillo’s coup? Yes, but not in Brazil.

On Thursday, Dec. 15, most of the TSE ministers followed Moraes and condemned the party’s action.

And what is their crime for them to deserve eradication?

The party asked for the annulment of the result of 250,000 ballot boxes compromised with flaws.

It pointed out inconsistencies in five ballot box models previous to the 2020 model (2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, and 2015).

The problem is that the old models do not have serial numbers, preventing the votes from being audited.

In addition, the technicians hired by the PL also identified the violation of the secrecy of the vote during the process of resetting devices that presented problems during voting.

The magistrates also maintained the suspension of the party fund and the party’s accounts. The only member of the Court to challenge the decision was Raul Araújo.

He considered the amount of the fine exaggerated and evaluated that the blocking of the accounts should be restricted to 30% of the amount until the fine is paid.