by Ivan Longo

Brazil’s Federal Police have formally opened an inquiry to investigate allegations of foreign funding for the presidential campaign of Senator Flávio Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro lost to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the second round of the election on October 25.

The opening of the investigation comes at the order of Supreme Court Justice Flávio Dino, issued on October 27. The inquiry was prompted by requests from the campaigns of Lula and Missão presidential candidate Renan Santos, which pointed to signs of foreign interference in Brazil’s electoral process.

Santos received nearly 2.7 million votes in the first round of the election, or 2.25% of the total votes.

Justice Dino identified evidence justifying an investigation into potential financial contributions from the United States to benefit Bolsonaro’s candidacy, as well as suspicions that digital platforms may have treated different candidates unequally.

In Dino’s view, these facts “point to an intensification of the signs of foreign interference in the electoral process.”

Key Aspects of the Investigation

The primary focus of the inquiry is the relationship between Brazilian entrepreneurs Tallis Gomes and Pedro Sang and the Rockbridge Network, a conservative U.S. organization co-founded by U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance.

The Federal Police will determine whether these interactions resulted in any transfer of funds, provision of services, or other benefits with economic value to Flávio Bolsonaro’s campaign.

Tallis Gomes has denied participating in any electoral fundraising, donations, or the brokering of resources for the campaign.

The investigation also covers the dissemination of paid electoral advertising by accounts based abroad, featuring content favorable to the senator. Investigators will seek to identify those responsible for the payments and the origin of the funds. Some of these publications utilized data from Polymarket, a foreign platform for betting on election results that is prohibited in Brazil.

Another focus of the investigation concerns the possibility of deliberate algorithmic manipulation by digital platforms to favor or disadvantage specific candidacies.

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, faced criticism throughout the campaign for allegedly favoring Bolsonaro’s campaign.

Justice Dino also ordered the Federal Police to clarify the “possible link between electoral support and the economic interests of foreign agents over Brazil’s rare earths and critical minerals.”

Legal and Political Implications

Brazilian law is explicit on this matter. Law No. 9.096/1995 (the Political Parties Law) and Article 17, item II, of the Federal Constitution prohibit political parties from receiving financial resources from foreign entities or governments, or from being subordinate to them.

Should these irregularities be proven, the legal registration and status of Flávio Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party could be revoked. This would happen through a procedure before the Superior Electoral Court that would include the right to a defense and a final, binding decision.

In issuing this order, Justice Dino was emphatic regarding the boundaries of national sovereignty.

“Direct or indirect interference by a foreign state in matters subject to the sovereignty of the Federative Republic of Brazil is impermissible. Likewise, the manifestation, within Brazilian territory, of effects resulting from unilateral foreign acts that fall outside the scope of constitutionally established mechanisms is not permitted,” he wrote.

When contacted by the press, Flávio Bolsonaro’s campaign denied having received any resources or support infrastructure from foreign sources.

Rockbridge Network, for its part, stated that its plans to establish operations in Brazil did not move forward and that it did not fund any political activities in the country.

The senator left Brazil after being served an order by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes to surrender his passports.

Flávio Bolsonaro currently resides in the United States with his family.

This article was originally published by Revista Forum. It was translated by Panamerican Dispatch. You can read the original, in Portuguese, here.

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