Federal Judge Blocks Party and Electoral Funds and Orders Use Against Coronavirus

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Federal Judge Itagiba Catta Preta Neto, of the 4th Civil Court in Brasília, ordered on Tuesday, April 7th, the blocking of party fund resources (money for political parties) and the electoral fund (to fund electoral campaigns).

The judge ruled that the money will be available to the federal government to be used in measures to fight the coronavirus or in actions against the economic consequences of the crisis due to the disease pandemic. On Tuesday, Brazil reported 667 deaths and 13,717 confirmed coronavirus cases.

“As a result, I hereby rule on the blocking of electoral and party funds, the amounts of which may not be deposited by the National Treasury, at the disposal of the Superior Electoral Court. The amounts may, however, at the discretion of the Chief Executive Officer, be used in favor of campaigns to fight the Coronavirus Pandemic – Covid-19, or to mitigate its economic consequences,” ordered the judge, meeting a petition lodged by a São Paulo attorney in a popular action.

The Solicitor General (AGU) reports that it has not yet been notified, but that it will appeal.

“The use of resources from the Special Campaign Fund and the Party Fund for measures to fight the coronavirus, according to AGU, is a measure that demands a legislative change, and it is not within the scope of a judicial decision to do so,” the AGU reported.

The party fund totals R$959 million and is used to allow the parties to operate. The campaign fund accumulates R$2.034 billion, funds earmarked for campaigns in the October municipal elections.

“Of the sacrifices required of the entire nation, not only a few can be spared, precisely the most powerful, who control the Union’s budget,” the federal judge said.

In the ruling, the magistrate stated that the crisis brought about by the impact of the pandemic on economic activity is “concrete, tangible,” with casual workers now experiencing “food shortages” and the closure of trade, generating a wave of “mass unemployment”.

“In this context, the maintenance of party and electoral funds intact, at the disposal of political parties, even if in the interest of citizenship (Art. 1, II of the Constitution), seems contrary to public morality, to the principles of human dignity (Art. 1, III of the Constitution), to the social values of work and free enterprise (Art. 1, IV of the Constitution) and also to the purpose of building a society of solidarity (Art. 3, I of the Constitution),” wrote the judge.