Brazil court fines former governor for early election campaigning

Former Federal District Governor José Roberto Arruda has been ordered to pay a R$5,000 fine by the electoral court for premature election campaigning. Arruda, who is running for governor of the Federal District, solicited votes for a district deputy candidate during a political event on July 19.

The court's decision, published Tuesday, found that Arruda's statement at the event – "It's no use electing me governor if I don't have people to help me. Help me elect Léo Rezende district deputy" – constituted an explicit request for votes. This action is prohibited before the official start of electoral campaigning.

A video of the statement was published on the Instagram profile of the deputy candidate, Léo Rezende, and gained traction on social media. The caption described Arruda as having endorsed Rezende as his "only pre-candidate for district deputy for housing."

The Regional Electoral Court of the Federal District (TRE-DF) rejected Arruda's defense that the phrase was merely a political endorsement permitted during the pre-campaign period. The court cited jurisprudence from the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) regarding "magic words" – expressions like "elect," "support," or "defeat" that carry the same meaning as a direct vote request, even without explicitly saying "vote for."

Léo Rezende was also fined R$5,000. The court determined that Rezende was the direct beneficiary of the message and promoted its dissemination on his own profile, indicating prior knowledge and direct participation in spreading the illicit material. The lawsuit was filed by the Progressive Union Federation, which supports Celina Leão, the current governor and Arruda's main rival.