Jair Bolsonaro, former president of Brazil, has been banned from politics until 2030. The country's Superior Electoral Court penalized the former president for abuse of power. The accusation was exacerbated by unfounded doubts about the electronic voting system launched by the then-president and his unlawful use of the media.
The sentence against Bolsonaro was clear-cut, with five votes in favor of disqualifying him and two against. The five judges considered that Bolsonaro abused his authority by using government communication channels for the sole purpose of promoting his electoral campaign and for creating doubts about the legality of the elections that had been held.
Bolsonaro's disqualification will prevent him from running for president again for another seven years, until 2030. This means that the politician will not be able to run in the 2024 or 2028 elections and, consequently, the conviction could end his political life. Carlos Melo, professor of political science at the Insper University of Sao Paulo told AP:
This decision will end Bolsonaro’s chances of being president again, and he knows it. After this, he will try to stay out of jail, elect some of his allies to keep his political capital, but it is very unlikely he will ever return to the presidency.
