Brazil’s pre-candidate for the elections, Flávio Bolsonaro, has emulated his father and gathered dozens of diplomats and foreign representatives in Brasília to question the credibility of the electoral system, just as his father, former president Jair Bolsonaro, did before his defeat at the polls in 2022.
Read more France investigates the death of Daniel Siad, alleged recruiter of women for Epstein
During the meeting, Flávio assured that “many” of the electronic voting machines used in Brazil have been manufactured by the Venezuelan company Smartmatic, denounced by US authorities for its responsibility in an alleged electoral fraud in Venezuela in 2012.
“I’m not going into more details, but just let it be known that many of those machines used in Brazilian elections are from that same company,” Flávio Bolsonaro said at the private event held this Tuesday, which brought together about 50 foreign representatives.
“What I ask of everyone (…) is that all countries can send as many observers as possible for our elections (…) and also people who know this technology and how Brazil can have safer and more transparent elections,” the pre-candidate appealed to the group of diplomats.
However, the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) has come out to deny these claims and has denied that the voting machines referred to by the former Brazilian president’s eldest son were manufactured by the said company.
“Messages circulating on social media claiming that Smartmatic supplies electronic voting machines or software for such machines in Brazil are false,” the TSE concluded, emphasizing that it is the court itself that is responsible for conceiving and managing the Brazilian voting system.
Read more Yogi tea
“The TSE reiterates that Smartmatic neither supplied nor supplies electronic voting machines for Brazilian elections, nor did it participate in the programming of these devices,” it added in a statement released in 2020, but updated this July after these hoaxes resurfaced.
This meeting with foreign diplomats is reminiscent of the one Jair Bolsonaro, as president of Brazil, organized shortly before the 2022 elections at the Planalto Palace with a large group of foreign representatives to make them believe that his country’s elections were in danger.
That meeting resulted in an eight-year disqualification from running in future elections, after the TSE found him guilty of abuse of political power and improper use of public media, since that meeting was broadcast through state television and his social networks.
These statements by Flávio come at a crucial moment for his candidacy, still awaiting the designation of a running mate from allied political parties, as Bolsonaro’s son is having trouble expanding his support beyond what the Liberal Party (PL) offers him.
His campaign, however, was already hit by other crises, such as the case of banker Daniel Vorcaro -recently arrested amid fraud accusations-, from whom he requested money to fund a film about his father; and the public confrontation he maintains with his stepmother, former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro, who reported feeling politically ignored and humiliated by Flávio.
Read more Italy announces it will host a new round of talks between Israel and Lebanon on August 4
