Brazil Court Upholds Ex-Candidate's Ineligibility

The São Paulo Electoral Court (TRE-SP) has denied appeals, confirming former mayoral candidate Pablo Marçal's ineligibility for eight years and a R$420,000 fine. The court's decision, made on Friday, upholds the original ruling concerning the improper use of media during the 2024 mayoral campaign.

Marçal, who is now campaigning for the presidency and soliciting donations from supporters, faced multiple accusations. While the court maintained his conviction for improper use of media, it overturned findings of economic abuse and illicit resource capture. The Electoral Public Prosecutor's Office had appealed the overturning of these charges, arguing that Marçal had created an "enterprise structure" to pay digital influencers for creating video clips. However, the court found insufficient evidence to support these claims.

The president of TRE-SP, José Antonio Encinas Manfré, explained that re-examining the evidence for economic abuse and illicit resource capture would require revisiting facts already analyzed by the court, which is not permitted in this type of appeal. Marçal's defense had sought to completely overturn the conviction, arguing the sanctions were based on unproven severity and a lack of demonstrated materiality. They also claimed a defense violation due to denied requests for investigations, such as contacting digital platforms and examining bank records.

However, the court rejected Marçal's appeal, noting that his defense failed to demonstrate concrete harm from the denied investigations. Furthermore, the court reiterated that addressing the claims of insufficient evidence for the electoral offense and the presumed ineligibility would necessitate a re-examination of facts already decided. This ruling marks another setback for Marçal at TRE-SP this year, following a previous rejection of his appeals on August 5.