Why Did Brazil Ban Jair Bolsonaro From Running for President Until 2030?

Former Brazil president Jair Bolsonaro, dubbed the "Trump of the Tropics," has been banned from running for president for eight years. This means he would not be able to run for the presidency until the 2030 presidential elections, and he will be 75 years old around that time already.

Brazilian Supreme Court justices banned him from running after they found that the right-wing politician abused his power when he summoned ambassadors from other countries for a presentation of his baseless claims that the 2022 Brazil elections will be stolen. The meeting happened just a few months before the elections.

Some of the ambassadors who attended the meeting pointed out that Bolsonaro did not present any actual evidence and just talked about the voting machines.

According to NPR, two justices still sided with Bolsonaro, citing freedom of speech, and ruled that he had the right to freely express his opinions. Bolsonaro vowed to appeal the decision, which he called a "stab in the back." He also promised to continue pushing right-wing politics in the country.

His lawyers argued that his opinions had no bearing on the election results. The former president also defended himself by claiming that he only explained how the Brazilian elections work to the ambassadors.

Brazil Supreme Court Rules Jair Bolsonaro Undermined Democracy

The Supreme Court found that Jair Bolsonaro undermined Brazilian democracy with his ambassador summons. Not only is the former Brazilian president not allowed to run until 2030. He is also not allowed to run in municipal elections next year and in 2028.

The reason he cannot run until 2030 on an eight-year ban decided in 2023 is because the ban is backdated to October 2, 2022, according to the BBC. This was when the Brazilian presidential elections took place.

Bolsonaro lost a very narrow election against the eventual winner, Lula, of the Worker's Party. Bolsonaro had been losing in the polls before the elections and had adopted tactics similar to ex-US President Donald Trump. He claimed the elections will be stolen and undermined the legitimacy of the elections. These claims even led to Brazil's own version of the January 6 Capitol insurrection, which is the January 8 riot.

Jair Bolsonaro Downplays Magnitude of January 8 Riot

Before the verdict, Jair Bolsonaro was in Russia and compared the Wagner revolt to January 8. He stated, "Now in Russia, there was an uprising of the Wagner Group. There were tens of thousands of armed men on both sides, with tanks in the streets. In Brazil, the attack was of young ladies with bibles under their arms and of young men with the flag on their backs."

Pro-Bolsonaro supporters stormed various government institutions, including Brazil's Supreme Court and Legislature in Brasilia. They also stormed the presidential palace, and it even prompted Lula and US President Joe Biden to share insurrection stories when the Brazilian president visited the White House earlier this year.

The Planalto Palace suffered R$ 4.3 million worth of damage (USD900,000), according to Merco Press. The Pro-Bolsonaro rioters, who bought into his version of the "Big Lie," still believed he won the election. They were responsible for damaging priceless artifacts, as well as various furniture, utilities, and windows.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Brazil court imposes Bolsonaro election ban to 2030 - Associated Press