Voters risk national decline by electing corrupt or unprepared candidates, author argues

When voters elect candidates with tarnished records or clear incompetence, they are not merely negligent; they risk condemning their country to political patronage and mediocrity. This act makes them morally complicent in the misdeeds of those they elect, akin to aiding and abetting a crime.

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When voting for a candidate with a past stained by corruption or who is manifestly unprepared, the voter is not just negligent. They assume the risk of condemning the country to live with political opportunism, consecrate the mediocrity of notorious incapables, and lose the right to protest.

The penalty for this electoral complicity is not imprisonment, but the tangible decay of public services, rising inflation, increased violence, and social failure that affects everyone. The author argues that citizens are active agents in the political process and must accept the potential consequences of their choices.

While Brazil has advanced in areas like electronic voting, it lags in ensuring electoral integrity. The article points to other democracies as examples: Cabo Verde has a robust system with technical, not political, election organization. Nordic countries utilize party committees for rigorous vetting of candidates' financial and civil histories. In Switzerland and the United States, citizens can recall elected officials who lose public trust through mechanisms like "recall" elections.

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The 'vote' resembles a power of attorney. Whoever votes becomes co-responsible morally for the candidates' misdeeds.

The responsibility ultimately falls on the voter to act as a discerning arbiter. This requires scrutinizing candidates' pasts and rejecting those who are opportunistic or untrustworthy. True political renewal, the piece concludes, begins with voter awareness and the understanding that casting a ballot is not just choosing representatives, but actively shaping one's own future and the nation's destiny.

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The penalty applied for this criminal-electoral co-participation is not deprivation of liberty, but rather the degradation of public services, inflation, violence, and social failure, which they themselves and their families will have to live with.