Supreme Court Justice Edson Fachin said on Monday (17) that Brazil is experiencing a "democratic recession" and that the future is "being contaminated by despotism."
Fachin also said that the candidacy of ex-president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) in 2018, vetoed by the Superior Electoral Court, would have "done democracy good" and strengthened the "rule of law."
At the time, the TSE based on the Clean Record Law blocked Lula's candidacy - the PT was already convicted in the second instance for corruption and money laundering in the case of the Guarujá (SP) triplex. Lula denies the crimes and says he is being persecuted politically.
Fachin did not quote President Jair Bolsonaro (without a party). Still, he said, on more than one occasion, that there is a "Trojan horse within the constitutional legality of Brazil", about a hidden threat to democracy in the country.
The Justice also pointed out that there was an "escalation of authoritarianism in Brazil after the 2018 elections".
"This Trojan horse has ties to militias and organizations involved in illegal activities. Conduct of those who praise or refuse to condemn an act of political violence in the past," he declared.
The statements were given in an online lecture at the VII Brazilian Congress on Electoral Law.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon