[ad_1]
BRASÍLIA — President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil known as dozens of international diplomats to the presidential palace on Monday to inform them that he believed the nation’s voting programs might be rigged, a possible preview of his technique for an election that’s 75 days away and that polls forecast he’ll lose in a landslide.
Whereas Mr. Bolsonaro’s presentation was not new — he has repeated these claims for years — his viewers was. He had invited officers from a lot of the embassies in Brazil’s capital, Brasília, elevating his claims from a matter of home politics to international coverage.
He had promised to share proof that confirmed fraud previously two presidential elections, but a lot of his 47-minute presentation, which he broadcast to the general public, centered on rehashing details about a 2018 hack of Brazil’s elections company, in addition to his accusations that sure Supreme Court docket justices had been making an attempt to sabotage his re-election bid.
“I do know that you just all need democratic stability in our nation,” Mr. Bolsonaro stated from behind a lectern to dozens of seated diplomats. “And that can solely be achieved with clear, dependable elections.”
Many diplomats on the occasion had been shaken by the presentation, together with Mr. Bolsonaro’s suggestion that the best way to make sure secure elections was by way of deeper involvement of Brazil’s navy, in keeping with two diplomats on the occasion who spoke on the situation of anonymity to debate personal conservations. These diplomats fearful that Mr. Bolsonaro was laying the groundwork for an try to dispute the poll outcomes if he misplaced.
Lower than three months earlier than the presidential election, Mr. Bolsonaro seems to be adhering to the blueprint of former President Donald J. Trump. Like Mr. Trump forward of the 2020 U.S. election, Mr. Bolsonaro is trailing within the polls. And like Mr. Trump, Mr. Bolsonaro seemed to be discrediting the vote earlier than it occurs in a supposed effort to extend reliability and transparency.
However Mr. Bolsonaro has publicly doubted the integrity of Brazil’s voting programs for years, even suggesting that there was fraud within the 2018 election that carried him to the presidency. (He has claimed, with out clear proof, that he would have gained by a wider margin if there had been no fraud.)
He has largely cited circumstantial proof, equivalent to movies that seem to point out malfunctioning voting machines. A lot of these movies have been debunked by fact-checking companies and election authorities.
On Monday, Mr. Bolsonaro once more homed in on a 2018 breach through which hackers gained entry for months to the inner programs of Brazilian election authorities. Mr. Bolsonaro stated that the hack had thrown the nation’s voting programs into doubt, however election officers have dismissed his considerations.
He additionally claimed that Brazil’s federal police “stated throughout the investigation that the hackers might change the title of candidates, take a vote from one candidate and ship it to the opposite.” However Brazil’s election company stated that was false.
The company stated that the hackers, who had entry to the company’s programs throughout the October 2018 elections, might change details about candidates and events for one municipal election that yr, however that they didn’t change votes or intrude with the digital voting machines, which aren’t related to the web. The investigation additionally confirmed that hackers had gained entry to the machines’ supply code and voters’ private knowledge. However the company stated the hackers couldn’t get entry to the voting machines or change vote totals.
The company — which is led by the identical Supreme Court docket justices who Mr. Bolsonaro claims are politically aligned towards him — on Monday revealed a 20-point truth examine of Mr. Bolsonaro’s claims and despatched it to diplomats after his speech.
The federal police’s lead investigator into the hack additionally testified earlier than the Supreme Court docket that the investigation had discovered no proof of fraud throughout the 2018 elections.
Diego Aranha, a Brazilian laptop scientist who has scrutinized Brazil’s voting programs, stated that whereas the 2018 hack confirmed that the nation’s election safety might be improved, it didn’t threaten the integrity of elections as a result of the hackers had not been capable of change votes or infiltrate voting machines.
A number of embassies in Brasília, together with the U.S. Embassy, declined to remark or didn’t reply to messages late Monday. Pietro Lazzeri, Switzerland’s ambassador to Brazil, stated on Twitter, “We want the Brazilian those that the following elections will likely be one other celebration of democracy and establishments.”
Officers from the USA and Europe have stated that they think about Brazil’s elections programs. President Biden pressured the significance of respecting democratic establishments in his assembly with Mr. Bolsonaro in June.
On the finish of Mr. Bolsonaro’s remarks on Monday, there was a quick silence as he stood earlier than the viewers. A few of the president’s assembled cupboard members rapidly broke into applause. Lots of the assorted diplomats then politely clapped, too.
[ad_2]
Source link
