Flávio Bolsonaro repeats his father and propagates false data about ballot boxes in meeting with diplomats

In front of a foreign audience, Flávio stated that Brazilian electronic voting machines have the same origin as voting machines from the Venezuelan company Smartmatic, which is false.

He mentions that, according to a CIA report released last week, Smartmatic was involved in a fraud plan by the Venezuelan government in the 2012 elections. The US intelligence agency says the idea was to change votes by programming the ballot boxes.

Flávio then asked diplomats to send as many foreign observers as possible to the 2026 election.

"A few days ago, by coincidence, there was a report by the American government of suspected fraud in the electronic electoral process, especially in Venezuela. [...] Many of these machines that are used in Brazilian elections are from the same... They have the same origin as this Venezuelan company", said Flávio.

He also stated: "The request I make to everyone here, I am not questioning the Brazilian voting system, but that all countries can send as many observers as possible to our elections, as they always do, and also people who have knowledge about this technology and [about] how Brazil can hold safer and more transparent elections."

Flávio participated in a round of events with presidential candidates promoted by the communications consultancy Novo Selo Comunicação and the website The Brazilian Report. The lecture brought together "Brazilian leaders and ambassadors, consuls, heads of mission and diplomatic representatives" from more than 40 countries, according to the organizers.

According to reports from diplomats present at the event, there were around 80 people at the meeting, including around 20 ambassadors, as well as other representatives from foreign countries. Among the participants were diplomats from the US and Chinese embassies, and ambassadors from Ireland, the United Kingdom and Austria, among others.

One of the ambassadors present stated that he did not consider the meeting to be a political event, and that the diplomats' participation did not mean a demonstration of support. The event was not disclosed to the press by the presidential candidate's team.

The report sought out Flávio's pre-campaign to comment on the senator's statements, but there has been no response yet.

Folha de S.Paulo has already denied rumors regarding Smartmatic in 2020. The Electoral Court declared, in a 2020 note, that the Venezuelan company never sold voting machines or software used in voting machines to Brazil, despite having provided other services, such as training people to provide technical and operational support for the voting machines.

"Smartmatic signed contracts with the TSE [Superior Electoral Court] on other occasions only for the provision of data and voice connection services, and not for the development or operation of the electronic voting machine. Furthermore, the company participated in the bidding for the manufacture of electronic voting machines for 2020, but lost to the company Positivo", says a note from the Electoral Court regarding this rumor.

At the same event, Flávio commented on Bolsonaro's meeting with ambassadors, stating that his father is ineligible and imprisoned for having expressed "a concern about the transparency and security of our electoral system" so that the ambassadors "would take this scenario of concern to their countries".

In 2023, the TSE sentenced Bolsonaro to ineligibility for eight years because of a meeting he organized with foreign ambassadors at Palácio da Alvorada, the official residence of the Presidency of the Republic.

At the time, less than three months before the 2022 election, Bolsonaro made false and distorted statements about the electoral process, claiming to be based on official data, in addition to seeking to discredit TSE ministers. The former president was convicted of abuse of power and misuse of the media.

At the same event, Flávio stated that the country does not have legal security, which would discourage foreign investments, mentioning as an example what he sees as the STF's (Supreme Federal Court) persecution of his father.

Flávio also promised to combat violence and corruption, and criticized the Federal Police. "Today we have a Brazilian Federal Police, part of which is equipped to continue political persecution of Lula's opponents," he said.

"The institutions are well equipped to protect politicians who are close to the current government and persecute opposition politicians, even if they have not committed any crime. So, in a possible Flávio Bolsonaro government, the institutions will return to investigating corrupt criminals and will not be used to persecute political opponents."

Regarding his father, Flávio stated that Bolsonaro "even without any evidence was sentenced by his own enemies to 27 years in prison, on charges of attempted coup d'état, when he was no longer in government and when he had made the entire peaceful transition to the next government."

"One of the reasons why President Jair Bolsonaro is not running in this year's elections is because he is in prison after being the victim of a huge hoax on the part of some in the Judiciary," he said.

Flávio also spoke about the economy, stating that the business environment would once again be favorable under his eventual government and that he would speed up licensing. At this point, he said that indigenous people will have autonomy to explore minerals in protected reserves.

"Our government will respect the environment, but it will take the wealth that exists underground or at the bottom of the sea and distribute this wealth to the Brazilian people. [] We will give autonomy to indigenous peoples who want to explore their soil or