A Brazilian Supreme Court judge on Monday temporarily limited access to weapons supplied by far-right President Jair Bolsonaro due to the “risk of political violence” during the election campaign.
“The start of the electoral campaign exacerbates the risk of political violence,” which “makes the need to restrict access to weapons and ammunition extremely and exceptionally urgent,” writes Justice Edson Fachin.
This decision was made “in light of recent and unfortunate episodes of political violence,” he said, without specifying whether he was referring to local events such as the murder in July of a militant of the Workers’ Party (PT) by a pro-Police of Bolsonaro, or Thursday’s attack on Argentine Vice President Cristina Kirchner in Buenos Aires.
Banned from polling stations
According to the court, Judge Fachin’s decision states that only “people who concretely show that they really need (weapons)” can own them. It also determines that “the purchase of restricted firearms may only be authorized” for reasons of “public security or national defense, and not based on personal interests”, as is the case of sports shooters, hunters and collectors.
With the proximity of the elections on October 2, which will pit the outgoing president against the former head of state Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (2003-2010), the constant questioning of the electronic voting system by Jair Bolsonaro raises fears of a refusal by some of his supporters. of a possible defeat or a reproduction of scenes such as the invasion of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Since coming to power, Jair Bolsonaro, a former army captain, has issued several decrees to facilitate access to firearms, including allowing more weapons to be owned and more ammunition to be purchased. Some of these decrees are being analyzed by the Supreme Court, which must decide whether they are constitutional or not.
The Superior Electoral Court of Brazil (TSE) announced last Tuesday the prohibition of carrying weapons in polling stations for the presidential elections on October 2.
Source: BFM TV
