The investigating judge of the trial against Jair Bolsonaro found the former Brazilian president guilty of abuse of power in the 2022 election and voted to be disqualified for 8 yearsat the second hearing of the trial held this Tuesday at the Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE).

Judge Benedito Gonçalves considered it proven that Bolsonaro used his position as head of state at the time “to worsen the electoral environment”, “foment a state of collective paranoia” and fabricate “fabrications”.conspiracy theorieswith “false information” and “horrible lies”.

“It is not possible to turn a blind eye to the anti-democratic effects of violent speeches and lies that jeopardize the credibility of the electoral justice system,” said the investigating judge in the summary reading of his vote, which totals 382 pages.

With the first vote in favor of Bolsonaro’s disqualification, the trial, which stems from a complaint from the Democratic Workers’ Party, was suspended and will resume on Thursday with the analysis of the other six magistrates who form the electoral court and who will determine the political future of the far-right leader.

The central point of the case is a meeting for which Bolsonaro convened fifty foreign ambassadors at the official residence of the presidency on July 18, 2022 to seriously disqualify the electoral system and accuse the judiciary of maneuvering in favor of the current president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

That meeting, described today by Gonçalves as “anomalous” and in which the then president raised unfounded suspicions about the electronic ballot boxes Brazil has been using since 1996 without complaints of fraud, was broadcast on public television and the reserve captain’s social networks. .

Bolsonaro would ultimately lose that year’s October election by a narrow margin against Lula, who took office on January 1.

However, Gonçalves opted for the acquittal of Bolsonaro’s running mate, General Walter Braga Netto, by “their responsibility has not been provenas.