Romeu Zema backs Renan Santos and attacks Brazil’s Supreme Court

Romeu Zema says he could not remain silent after Brazil’s Electoral Court suspended the campaign of fellow presidential candidate Renan Santos, despite being a rival in the 2026 election.

Zema, a candidate for the Novo party and former governor of Minas Gerais, criticized a decision by Electoral Court Justice Dias Toffoli in a post on X. “What Toffoli has just done is absurd,” Zema wrote. He added that “there is no democracy that can stand this way.”

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What Toffoli has just done is absurd.

Toffoli’s order suspended Santos’ online electoral advertising, transfers from the electoral fund and his right to take part in radio and television debates across Brazil. The measure came in a case examining possible irregularities in Santos’ candidacy registration.

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There is no democracy that can stand this way, with a Supreme Court already worn down by various decisions, investigations and schemes that only tarnish the institution.

Zema also accused ministers of tarnishing the Supreme Court, describing them as “untouchable.” He said the institution was already worn down by decisions, investigations and schemes that damaged its reputation.

Toffoli said Santos failed to report the social-media accounts he maintained within the legal deadline. The justice argued that the omission itself indicated an attempt to evade the law. The decision referred to 16 profiles submitted 12 days after the candidacy was registered, although the accounts must be reported on the same day as registration or within one day of creating new channels. If the electoral case concludes against Santos, he could lose his candidacy registration and be barred from the 2026 race.

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The omission of data itself is an indication of fraud against the law.