Bolsonaro calls for dialog between three gov’t branches again

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro advocated dialog between all three government branches during his weekly live broadcast on social media on Thursday (Aug. 5). The president said he is willing to talk and also restated his defense of the printed ballot to ensure “democratic and transparent elections” next year, by a public count of votes.

According to Bolsonaro, the proposal does not mean that electors will bring home proof of vote after casting a ballot. “No one will bring a piece of paper home. This was never the issue. A printer prints out [the ballot] through a transparent plate and, if the person agrees with the printing is in accordance with the screen, they press a button, and the thing falls into a canvas bag, to be opened after the elections. The elections are still counted electronically, except the public counting of votes is carried out immediately after the elections,” he said. 

During the broadcast, the president commented the decision of Supreme Court Chief Justice Luiz Fux, who called off a meeting between the heads of the government branches that was being organized for the coming days. The gathering was slated to to take place last month, but Bolsonaro was hospitalized and the meeting did not occur.

“What’s necessary—seizing the opportunity provided by Justice Fux’s note, he’s right about a lot of things here—is dialog between branches. Even in wartime, commanders from opposing armies talk, also in order to see if the other wants an armistice,” the president said.

Cancellation

At the end of Thursday’s session, Supreme Court Chief Justice Luiz Fux decided to call off the meeting between the heads of the three branches that had been organized for the coming days.

Fux’s ruling was issued after recent statements by Bolsonaro on the reliability of voting machines and his criticism of Supreme Court Justice Luiz Roberto Barroso.

The minister reported that, in June, he talked to Bolsonaro about boundaries in the exercise of freedom of speech and respect among government branches.

“Faced with such circumstances, the Federal Supreme Court reports that the meeting previously announced between branch leaders has been canceled. The premise of dialog between branches is mutual respect between institutions and their members,” Fux stated.

The constitutional amendment on the printed ballot, currently under deliberation at the lower house, stipulates that the vote is “verifiable in printed medium and investigated at a public session.”