Brazilian Supreme Court justice sets date for Bolsonaro's trial

By Jorge Antonio Rocha

MEXICO CITY (AA) - Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes decided Monday to set the trial of former President Jair Bolsonaro for June 22.

The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), the country’s top elections court, accuses Bolsonaro of abusing his power by attacking the electoral courts and criticizing without evidence the reliability of electronic voting. He is also being investigated for misuse of the media.

If convicted, the 68-year-old will not be able to run for president for eight years.

Bolsonaro, who has been involved in a series of legal clashes since stepping down from power in January, will face trial for a televised address held at the Alvorada Palace in front of a dozen foreign diplomats where he made unfounded claims against Brazil's electronic voting system ahead of his faceoff with current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in October last year.

For an hour, Bolsonaro shared debunked claims that Brazil's electronic voting system was vulnerable to hacking or tampering.

The Democratic Labour Party (PDT) filed a legal complaint against him for his remarks.

The electronic voting system has been a constant target of criticism and slander by Bolsonaro, who has pushed for paper voting ballots for years, claiming that the electronic polls implemented since 1996 lead to fraud. Such claims drew condemnation from analysts and critics who saw in Bolsonaro's claims an attempt to undermine a possible outcome favoring Lula.

Brazil's prosecution has backed the trial against Bolsonaro, saying his remarks during the meeting with the foreign diplomats influenced voters' perceptions ahead of the presidential elections, which may have triggered the raid on Brazil's federal buildings by Bolsonaro's supporters, who promoted a military overthrow of the newly elected Lula.