Brazilian court suspends Lula campaign ad over insinuations about Flávio Bolsonaro

A Brazilian electoral judge has temporarily halted a campaign advertisement that portrayed Senator Flávio Bolsonaro as untrustworthy and linked him indirectly to criminal organizations. The video, released by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s Workers’ Party, presented what it called Bolsonaro’s political “curriculum” in 30 seconds.

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You cannot trust this man. Flávio, the worst of the Bolsonaros.

The advertisement recalled allegations involving Bolsonaro, including claims that he began his career as a ghost employee in a Brasília office and faced accusations of money laundering and criminal organization in the rachadinha scandal. It also said he had honored Adriano da Nóbrega, a former police officer accused of leading Rio de Janeiro’s largest hit squad. The video further referred to an alleged request for 134 million reais from banker Daniel Vorcaro, who is in pretrial detention in a financial corruption case.

The advertisement ended with a voice-over saying, “You cannot trust this man. Flávio, the worst of the Bolsonaros.” Judge Estela Aranha ruled that the piece “goes beyond the limits of permissible political criticism.” She said it built an indirect chain of associations without citing concrete data, a formal investigation or a legal indictment to support the allegations.

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Goes beyond the limits of permissible political criticism.

The judge also noted that the video had the “appearance of a documentary,” which could mislead voters about the existence and meaning of the events presented. The rachadinha case, involving allegations that ghost employees were hired and most of their salaries diverted, was ultimately archived after courts invalidated evidence. Flávio Bolsonaro said he honored da Nóbrega when he was still known as a police officer and “had not done absolutely anything wrong.”

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Had not done absolutely anything wrong.