The President of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), Minister Alexandre de Moraes, decorated, this Tuesday (7), the President of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), with the medal of the Order of Merit Assis Brasil. The decoration was awarded to Pacheco for “defending democracy” in recent times. The medal is the highest honor granted by the Electoral Justice.
Moraes said that the president of the Senate is “one of the great defenders of the democratic rule of law”. “Pacheco carries out party-political activity without hatred, discrimination, without violence. He is an aggregator, a person with patience to discuss political issues and uncompromising towards the pillars of democracy”, he declared.
During the ceremony, Federal Supreme Court Minister Cármen Lúcia, who is also part of the electoral court, said that the tribute represents recognition of the senator’s performance in times of “institutional neglect”.
“Senator Rodrigo Pacheco is an example of respect, not only for citizens, but for the institutions and rituals that are required for the performance of public functions. The people deserve respect and state offices impose the functional composure that Pacheco boasts ”, he praised.
The minister also stated that democracy remained unshaken in recent years because men and women stood against the “betrayal of the constitution and the homeland”. “The powers have been confronted in their democratic bases in recent times. The walls and assets that make up its buildings have been attacked, its foundations have been questioned, the agents that make up its bodies have been attacked, ”she added.
After thanking the TSE for the tribute, Pacheco said that the country experienced an “unfortunate period” of repeated attacks on democracy and the electoral system. The president of the Senate took the opportunity to make a new defense of electronic voting machines, heavily attacked by former president Jair Bolsonaro last year, including during the presidential race in which he was defeated.
“Electronic ballot boxes have always been a source of national pride and have brought, in these 27 years of use in Brazil, transparency, reliability and speed in calculating the result of the election. They became a powerful tool against electoral vices, very common in the era of paper voting. They represent a democratic and civilizing framework. The attempt to discredit them proved fruitless.
The ceremony was accompanied by president Lula, vice president, Geraldo Alckmin, president of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), ministers of superior courts, ministers of the Executive Branch, governors and other authorities.
