PL activates TSE and accuses Lula of hate speech against people from Santa Catarina
The PL filed a representation with the TSE (Superior Electoral Court) on Tuesday (30) saying that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) discriminated against and propagated hate speech against the population of Santa Catarina.
The process targets statements made by Lula on Friday (26), during a visit to Petrobrás vessel works in Itajaí (SC), an event broadcast through the federal government's institutional channels.
According to the party, the president went beyond the administrative nature of the event and started campaigning in advance for the 2026 election, asking the public to "compare" his management to that of political opponents and conclude "who is good for Santa Catarina" and "who is good for Brazil".
The central point of the representation, however, is another excerpt from the speech, in which Lula defended the end of the policy of cutting racial quotas in Santa Catarina and said that "racism" nor a "grandiosity syndrome" linked to the idea of "white hegemony" cannot be "allowed" to prevail in the state.
He then cited Nazism as a historical example of what happened when this type of idea prevailed.
For the PL, when making this association, Lula generically attributed to the entire population of Santa Catarina the practice of racism and a supposed affinity with Nazi ideology, without evidence or individualization, which would constitute hate speech based on regional origin, a practice classified as a crime by art. 20 of the Racism Law.
What the PL asks for
The party asks the Electoral Court:
- the immediate removal of the video of the speech from YouTube and CanalGov;
- that Lula be prohibited from repeating this type of speech in official acts, under penalty of a daily fine;
- on the merits, the recognition of early electoral propaganda and discriminatory speech;
- the sending of the case to the PGR (Attorney General's Office) and the Public Electoral Ministry, for possible criminal investigation.
The TSE has not yet commented on the injunction request.
Criticism of Jorginho Mello
On the same agenda, the president also questioned the absence of the governor of Santa Catarina, Jorginho Mello (PL).
"He simply did not participate, so as not to form a partnership with the federal government. What is the size of this citizen's head, what is the quality of the brain mass he has in his head? What is it, it is necessary to research, because a human being cannot be small enough to not privilege the interests of the people of Santa Catarina", he declared.
Lula further criticized the governor, who is a pre-candidate for re-election.
"They think I'm pleased to come here with the most important company in Brazil, with the Minister of Transport, with the Minister of Port and Airport and the governor, whose name I don't even know, never had the courage to attend. He never had the courage to attend. Everyone is invited. I should come to explain to you why, during his campaign, he took photographs with a machine gun."
The PL classifies these statements as personal attacks on a political opponent, which would also constitute extemporaneous propaganda, this time negative.
Source: CNN