Fiscal de Meme

Let’s make sure the entire world understands. In Brazil, judicial rulings in connection with federal elections are made by the court that has been in place for that very purpose, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE). @LulaOficial requested to the TSE that the polls be extended by two more hours in the entire country, citing “transportation problems.” Who controls the transport system? Lula’s government surely more so than a senator running for president. Instead of waiting for a TSE ruling. @LulaOficial immediately asked Brazilian Supreme Court (STF) justice @Cristianozaninm to order the polls remain open WITHOUT any TSE ruling. Within minutes (did Zanin even read the filing?), the polls were ordered to remain open by Zanin. The STF has 11 justices. What did Zanin do before becoming an STF justice? Oh yes, he was Lula’s criminal defense lawyer in his corruption cases. If this blatant rigging of the elections will be used to announce that Lula won, is Lula seriously expecting anyone in the international community to recognize that as a free and fair election? He knows nobody will. Has the desperation reached a point that today is the day the mask fully comes off and Lula becomes the next Nicolas Maduro? For the sake of Brazil, I pray that is not the case.

The most important question about STF Justice @Cristianozaninm last minute voting extension is what happened at each polling station. Venezuela offers a warning. On December 6, 2015, Venezuela’s electoral authority extended parliamentary voting by an hour. Opposition leaders accused it of giving Nicolas Maduro additional time to mobilize supporters at stations that should already have closed. Maduro’s opponents nevertheless won that election. And yet, Maduro stayed until his removal on January 3, 2026. In 2021, EU observers monitored closing at 51 Venezuelan polling stations. Only three had voters queuing at the legal deadline. Yet 48 closed late. Why does that matter? An extension changes the opportunity to participate. If some stations remain open while others have finished voting, voters can receive different opportunities depending on where they are registered. A campaign with better information and stronger local organization may be better positioned to exploit the additional time. Venezuela’s 2024 experience illustrates the deeper issue. The Carter Center found that precinct records collected by opposition observers showed González winning overwhelmingly, while electoral authorities announced Maduro’s victory without publishing the corresponding precinct results. The records helped expose the discrepancy. For Brazil, the questions that demand answers should therefore be concrete. Which stations remained open? When did each receive the extension order? Which had already closed? Were party observers present? What do the identification records, machine logs and station level tallies establish? Protecting access to the ballot and protecting confidence in the result require evidence that every voter was treated fairly.