Allegations of Electoral Fraud Hit Bolsonaro Administration

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro faces the largest scandal of his nascent presidency as electoral fraud allegations against members of his cabinet have started to emerge. On February 4, a report by Folha de Sao Paulo revealed that Bolsonaro’s secretary general Gustavo Bebianno misused campaign funds and funnelled them to phony candidates during the past election.

One of the most prominent stories involves politician Maria de Lourdes Paixao and her Congressional race. During the 2018 electoral campaign, Paixao received the third-largest disbursement of campaign funds from the Social Liberal Party, of which President Bolsonaro is the leader. She collected more funds from the party than even Bolsonaro did during his own presidential campaign, but only ended up winning 274 votes in her race for a seat in the Congress. Campaign reports reveal 95 percent of Paixao’s spending was on flyers and stickers by a company that does not appear to exist. Upon questioning, Paixao was unable to answer any questions about her campaign spending or why she was even selected to run.

In addition to Paixao, three other candidates received significant sums from the national party, and likewise only won a small number of votes in the past election. Gustave Bebianno is the man responsible for disbursing campaign funds and has now come under intense scrutiny. Bebianno is a close ally of President Bolsonaro and former president of the Social Liberal Party.

Councilman Carlos Bolsonaro, son of President Bolsonaro, attacked Bebianno on social media over the alleged electoral fraud, claiming that Bebianno lied to his father about his involvement in the scandal. President Bolsonaro shared these social media posts, an act indicating his implicit support of the calls for Bebianno’s resignation. He has also ordered a police investigation into potential campaign finance violations. Bolsonaro campaigned on a strong anti-corruption platform but is now facing several scandals himself. His own son Flavio is currently being accused by prosecutors of money laundering during his time as a member of the Rio de Janeiro state assembly.

The campaign fund  scandal comes in the midst of President Bolsonaro’s push to reform the fragile Brazilian pension system, but a potential cabinet reshuffling in light of these new accusations would likely put these plans on hold.