Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro confirmed on Wednesday that he has asked a major businessman to spread false news about electronic voting machines, for which he is under investigation and will have to make a statement to the police.
“I sent it to Meyer [Nigrei], what’s the problem? O [ministro do Supremo Tribunal Federal e então presidente do Tribunal Superior Eleitoral Luís Roberto] Barroso had spoken abroad [sobre a derrota da proposta do voto impresso na Câmara, em 2021]I have always been in favor of the printed vote,” Bolsonaro told Folha de S.Paulo newspaper.
Businessman Meyer Nigri is a Bolsonaro supporter and owner of Tecnisa, a major company dealing with housing projects in Brazil.
On Tuesday, Brazil’s federal police called on Bolsonaro to testify in the trial investigating an alleged coup plot being promoted by Nigri and other businessmen against current president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The interrogation of the former Brazilian head of state is scheduled for Thursday next week, according to the federal police.
Bolsonaro, who ruled Brazil between 2019 and 2022, has responded to police interrogations several times since leaving power on January 1, when he was succeeded by Lula da Silva.
This included the coup attempt on January 8, when thousands of radicals violently raided the headquarters of the three government powers in Brasilia.
He has also been questioned for alleged fraud with COVID-19 vaccine certificates and for attempting to appropriate state-owned jewelry received during his tenure.
Bolsonaro will now have to appear in court to explain the coup-like messages exchanged in message groups by businessmen associated with the Brazilian far right, which were revealed a year ago by the Metropoles portal.
In these reports, several of these businessmen openly said that they favored promoting a coup if Lula da Silva won the election, which would eventually happen in October 2022, when he defeated Bolsonaro, who was seeking re-election, in the 2022 elections. polls.
However, Federal Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes on Monday closed the investigation regarding six of these businessmen, but maintained his suspicions regarding two: Luciano Hang and Meyer Nigri.
Police are investigating a message allegedly sent by Bolsonaro in which the former head of state encourages him to spread false information about electoral fraud, which also includes serious criticism of Luís Roberto Barroso, another Supreme Court judge.
During the latest campaign, Bolsonaro and some of his allies waged a smear campaign against the electronic voting machines Brazil has used in its elections since 1996, with no problem reported since then.
Because of these continued attacks on the electoral process and democratic institutions, the former president was banned for eight years by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE).
Source: DN
