President Lula's (Workers' Party) reelection campaign has filed two formal complaints with Brazil's TSE (Superior Electoral Court) against presidential candidates Renan Santos (Missao party) and Ronaldo Caiado (PSD), according to newspaper Folha de S.Paulo. The filings allege the two candidates offended Lula's honor during a debate hosted by broadcaster Band, which Lula did not attend. The complaint against Renan Santos is dated Tuesday, August 25, and the one targeting Caiado is dated Monday, August 24.
Renan Santos is the main target of the legal action. Lula's legal team, led by attorney Angelo Ferraro, lists six statements the Missao candidate made during the debate that it considers offensive, along with their reposting on social media by Renan Santos himself and by his party. Among the remarks cited in the filing: "Lula had to come here to defend his legacy. I'm here calling him a thief. Why didn't he show up to defend himself?" and "Most of the time he's either drunk or with Janja. It's better to be drunk at times like these, right, Mr. President?", referring to Lula's wife, Janja da Silva.
The campaign's argument
Lula's lawyers argue it is "unmistakable that these accusations damage" the president's "honor and reputation," according to the excerpt of the filing cited by Folha. The legal team also raised concerns about how far the remarks spread online after the debate.
"In particular, the first attack on his honor made by the candidate, namely the label calling Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva a 'thief,' has already logged more than 900,000 views on TikTok and nearly 200,000 likes on Instagram," Lula's legal team stated, according to Folha.
The defense describes the posts as "slanderous, defamatory and injurious, with extremely high reach, being shared across a variety of platforms." The filing lists 20 posts on the social media profiles of Renan Santos and the Missao party, and asks the TSE, Brazil's electoral court that also rules on campaign conduct disputes, to order their removal and to fine both candidates and the Missao party.
Folha de S.Paulo is the source for this report; no other outlet had published additional details on the filings at the time of writing. The TSE has not yet commented publicly on either complaint. It is now up to the court to decide whether to open a response period for Renan Santos, Caiado and Missao before ruling on the requests to remove content and impose fines.