Flávio's talk about ballot boxes bothers diplomats, who see the potential for an effect on the election

To the foreign audience, Flávio stated that the ballot boxes used in Venezuela are from the same company that supplies equipment to Brazil, which is not true. He also said that, according to a report from the CIA (US intelligence agency), Smartmatic was involved in a plan to defraud the Venezuelan government in the 2012 elections.

For a participating ambassador, interviewed by the reporter on condition of anonymity, Flávio's statement was not ideal, even though the senator considered that he had no intention of questioning the legitimacy of the Brazilian electoral process. In this interlocutor's view, it would not be up to the pre-candidate to make comparisons between the situation in Venezuela and Brazil.

According to him, a recent presentation made by the president of the TSE (Superior Electoral Court), minister Kassio Nunes Marques, to representatives from other countries left the feeling that Brazilian electronic voting machines are safe.

Folha has already denied rumors relating to Smartmatic in 2020. The Electoral Court declared, in a note that year, 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.

Another diplomat said that, at first, he thought that Flávio tried to defend the position of his father, former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL), delegitimizing the 2022 elections and suggesting that Lula had somehow been unfairly elected.

But, in a second moment, he said he wondered if the pre-candidate was trying to delegitimize the next elections. He argued that, in the event of Lula's re-election, Flávio could use this to claim that he warned about the possibility of fraud in electronic voting machines, which would cast a shadow on the October election.

For this interlocutor, both situations may be behind the attitude. However, he views the senator's attitude with concern. Questioning the reliability of the Brazilian voting system, in his view, is equivalent to questioning democracy, which would be harmful to the country.

On Tuesday, the senator stated that the speech "does not cast doubt on the Brazilian electoral process." "The invitation for the presence of international observers follows a practice adopted in several democracies and reinforces transparency in the electoral system", says the note.

Hours later, his campaign released another statement, stating that "it is not true" that the pre-candidate had questioned the integrity of the voting system in Brazil and that he limited himself to reporting public facts, such as the CIA report.

"In his speech, which is very brief at this point, pre-candidate Flávio Bolsonaro expressly states that he is 'not questioning the Brazilian voting system'."

The note also says that he reaffirms "his full confidence in the Brazilian electoral system and his unrestricted belief that international observation missions must be strongly encouraged."

Flávio participated on Tuesday, in Brasília, in a round of events with presidential candidates promoted by the 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.

Some of those present reported that Flávio demonstrated that he did not have a very good command of international affairs, emphasizing only issues related to foreign investment in the Brazilian economy. The tariff imposed by the United States was not mentioned by the senator during the event, according to participants.

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