The plenary of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) confirmed today (29) an injunction (provisional decision) determining the removal of sections of a live broadcast by the campaign of candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in which the former president interacts with artists and other personalities.
The removal had been determined yesterday (28) by the rapporteur of the case, Minister Benedito Gonçalves. He responded, in part, to a request from the campaign of President Jair Bolsonaro, candidate for re-election, who accused his opponent of promoting a super live of five hours with the live performance of several artists.
In his vote, Gonçalves said that “in view of the magnitude of the structure set up and the originality of the theme, the excerpts of musical performances, even if they do not include commercial repertoire, can produce anti-isonomic effects in the electoral dispute, which must be inhibited” .
By the decision of the plenary, the PT, Lula’s party, is obliged to remove from the video of the live the excerpts with jingles sung by artists. Lula’s campaign will also no longer be able to use the images.
The rapporteur highlighted that the so-called showmícios – rallies animated by artists, paid or not – are not allowed by the Electoral Justice, but that “it is lawful for members of the artistic class to decide to lend their public image, built over a career (often defined based on ideals shared with their fans), to a specific candidacy or to any other banner”.
With this consideration, he denied the Bolsonaro campaign’s request to declare Lula’s abuse of political power and misuse of the media, and also for all content to be removed from the internet.
