The presidential ticket of Flávio Bolsonaro and Alfredo Gaspar filed a lawsuit on Tuesday (8) at Brazil's top electoral court, the TSE, seeking to revoke the registration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and his running mate Geraldo Alckmin, and to have Lula declared ineligible. The suit is an AIJE, a Brazilian legal tool to investigate abuse of power in campaigns that can end with a candidacy being struck. It alleges abuse of political power, abuse of economic power and improper use of media in the Acadêmicos de Niterói samba school parade on February 15, held at the Marquês de Sapucaí sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, which honored Lula with the theme "Do alto do Mulungu surge a esperança: Lula, o operário do Brasil".
In the filing, Bolsonaro's lawyers call the episode "the largest case of use of the state apparatus in favor of a presidential candidacy ever seen in Brazil's democratic history" and argue it broke the equal footing between the candidates. According to G1, the defense says the tribute had an electoral purpose and gave Lula an unfair advantage in an election year.
Financing at the center
Financing is the core of the case. The suit says at least R$ 9.65 million in public money went to the school's parade, combining federal, state and municipal transfers. Of that, R$ 1 million came from the tourism agency Embratur and R$ 4 million from the city of Niterói, which the petition says was double the amount the school received the year before. The filing also cites R$ 2.5 million in private fundraising attributed to first lady Rosângela da Silva, known as Janja, from three businessmen. The petition itself acknowledges that this point needs further investigation during the proceedings.
Bolsonaro's lawyers also point to meetings between school officials and staff at the Planalto and Alvorada presidential palaces, engagements at the government's institutional relations office, trips by Janja on Brazilian Air Force planes, and presidential staff helping organize guests. In their reading, the parade went beyond a biographical tribute. The filing cites the chant "olê, olê, olê, olá, Lula, Lula", references to the number 13, symbols of Lula's Workers Party and criticism of political opponents. Lula watched the parade alongside cabinet ministers; Janja did not take part. Beyond Lula and Alckmin, the defendants include Janja, former Embratur head Marcelo Freixo and Niterói mayor Rodrigo Neves.
The case at the accounts court
Brazil's federal accounts court, the TCU, is already looking into the parade. In April, TCU minister Augusto Nardes opened an investigation into possible misuse of public funds, after a complaint from lawmakers of the Novo party. Before Carnival, then-TCU minister Aroldo Cedraz had rejected a request to suspend the Embratur transfer. He said the R$ 12 million agreement was split evenly among the 12 schools of the special division, with R$ 1 million each, and that at the time there was no evidence of favoritism toward the school because of the tribute.
The TSE must now decide whether to admit the suit. If it does, the defendants will be called to respond before the court rules on the merits, and no deadline is set for a ruling. According to CNN Brasil, sources in Bolsonaro's campaign say this is the first in a series of challenges that will be filed before the October election.