(LifeSiteNews) — Former Brazilian president Jair Bolosnaro has been barred from running for public office until 2030 by a panel of judges in what appears to be a case of political retribution under current socialist president Lula da Silva.
According to the Associated Press, a majority of the seven justices serving on Brazil’s top electoral court sided against Bolsonaro Friday “after concluding that he abused his power and cast unfounded doubts on the country’s electronic voting system.”
Bolsonaro fled to Florida after narrowly losing his re-election bid to Lula 50.9 percent to 49.1 percent last October. He never expressly conceded defeat and even challenged the results by filing a 33-page lawsuit, which was eventually tossed out by left-wing supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. Many conservatives believe the race was stolen. Bolsonaro returned to Brazil in March only to have his home raided by federal authorities in May.
“Bolsonaro’s case marks the first time a president has been suspended for election violations rather than a criminal offense,” the AP reports. “Brazilian law forbids candidates with criminal sentences from running for office.”
Judge Benedito Gonçalves claimed Bolsonaro put forth “appalling lies” intended to “arouse a state of collective paranoia,” following his showdown against Lula, The Guardian reports. Judge Floriano de Azevedo Marques argued that Bolsonaro tried to make Brazil “a little banana republic” with his “immoral actions.”
Bolsonaro, 68, is Catholic. He consecrated Brazil to Mary, the Mother of God, before the election. During his four years in office, he pursued an array of pro-life and pro-family policies. Former U.S. President Donald Trump was a close ally. Many pundits have argued that the storming of Capitol buildings in Brazil following Bolsonaro’s loss was a Deep State ploy similar to that of January 6 in the U.S., designed to depict him as a “threat to democracy” in order to prevent him from further political involvement.
“This is an injustice against me, my God in heaven! Show me something concrete I have done against democracy,” Bolsonaro reportedly said Thursday. “Perhaps my crime was doing the right thing for four years.”
Current president Lula has moved Brazil closer to China and the global left during his short time in office. He has sought to combat the spread of so-called “fake news” on social media, pushed COVID-19 vaccines, and pursued radical “green” policies. Before running for office in 2020, he was serving a hefty prison sentence for money laundering that was ultimately lifted by a corrupt elections court. He previously served as president from 2003 until 2010.
According to the AP, Bolsonaro can appeal the decision to Brazil’s Supreme Court, though an overturning is believed to be unlikely.
This story is developing…