Lula Seeks to Distance Himself from Supreme Court Crisis as Flávio Bolsonaro Tries to Capitalize on the Wear and Tear

Brazil’s presidential campaign added a new source of tension after a Quaest poll placed Flávio Bolsonaro ahead of Lula for the first time in a second-round simulation, with 42% to 40%, according to Folha de S.Paulo. According to that outlet, the result is within the margin of error, but it raised alarms in the president’s circle.

According to Folha’s analysis, Flávio Bolsonaro’s growth reflects the capture of voters who were already evaluating the current government negatively. The poll also gauged where the support of those who today prefer Ronaldo Caiado, Renan Santos, Augusto Cury or Romeu Zema could go; together they account for 16% of respondents: in a potential runoff, the largest share would lean toward the PL candidate.

In that scenario, Lula tried to distance himself from the image crisis affecting the Supreme Federal Court and Justice Alexandre de Moraes, on a day marked by an unprecedented session of the court to analyze the opening of an investigation against the magistrate, worn down by the Banco Master scandal, according to Folha.

In an interview with Record cited by the newspaper, Lula pointed at André Mendonça, whom he accused of selectively leaking information from the investigations, but at the same time sought to separate himself from the Judiciary. “The Supreme Court needs to be an example and not contribute to society’s distrust,” he said. He also said that “whoever did something has to be punished, judged” and called for it to be investigated “with full rigor.”

Folha reported that allies of the president had expected a tougher tone, though without direct attacks from Lula on Moraes. In the head of state’s circle, the newspaper added, the idea is growing that the political cost generated by the STF crisis needs to be reduced. There was also discontent among PT aides over the court session, on the understanding that some justices seemed more focused on preserving their positions than on the institution.

On the other side, Flávio Bolsonaro sought to explicitly link the Supreme Court’s wear and tear to the government. In a campaign piece aired on television and social media, he said he was interrupting his activities “given the gravity of everything that is happening” and accused the government of having created an “institutional imbalance.” According to Folha, the senator also said that the current president “shared his power with Alexandre de Moraes.”

The newspaper also recalled that Flávio is under investigation in the Master case. According to a text message found by the Federal Police and cited by Folha, the senator asked Daniel Vorcaro for money to finish the film “Dark Horse,” about his father, Jair Bolsonaro.

The crisis was also seized upon by other candidates. Ronaldo Caiado spoke of a “complete moral degradation” and called for Moraes to be investigated. Romeu Zema led a rally in Brasília against the STF and called for the political impeachment of the court’s justices. Renan Santos mocked the session in a live broadcast and Augusto Cury demanded speed, transparency and discretion from the judges, all according to Folha.

Meanwhile, the opinion analysis published by that same outlet argued that Lula was left facing an opponent favored by the uncertainty of the scenario and by the rise in rejection of the PT. It also recalled that the current president’s return to the Planalto had come by a narrow margin, of 1.8 percentage points, and that later the candidate backed by the party in the São Paulo municipal election was defeated by more than 1 million votes.

Sources

• Folha de S.Paulo
• Folha de S.Paulo

About this note. Written by El Notero with the assistance of artificial intelligence, based on what was published by the cited outlet. El Notero did not do any original reporting on this event.