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A Brazilian presidential candidate on Thursday accused his far-right opponent of illegal campaign practices for allegedly allowing friendly businessmen to pay secretly to broadcast slanderous messages.
The accusations of Fernando Haddad, left party, follow an article published by the newspaper Folha S.Paulo, according to which businessmen related to Congressman Jair Bolsonaro have funded the dissemination of false information on the service of WhatsApp messaging for the benefit of his application. The article indicated that a campaign of explosive messages was scheduled for the week before the second round on October 28th.
In a series of tweets, Bolsonaro, which tops the polls, said that any support from businessmen was voluntary. Gustavo Bebbiano, president of the Bolsonaro Social Liberal Party, denied receiving illegal donations.
"Every donation made so far, no matter what the campaign of our party or our candidate, comes from resources given to our platform, in accordance with the legislation in force" said Bebbiano.
Haddad, who was hand-picked by former imprisoned president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, said he had tracks to follow for the federal police, but did not reveal any names. . He then asked the highest court in Brazil to open an investigation and said he could bring the case to the Organization of American States.
"There is a criminal organization of businessmen who used illegal campaign funding to promote this candidacy and alter the elections in the first round (October 7) .And they want to do it again in the second round, "said Haddad. "We estimate that hundreds of thousands of messages, all fake, were sent to voters to suggest that they voted for my rival."
Paying for the blast message, though it is true, could be a violation of Brazil's campaign finance laws since companies are not allowed to give money to candidates, said Electoral lawyer Erick Pereira.
"But strong evidence is still needed, which is not here yet," added Pereira.
The Folha article mentioned the businessman Luciano Hang, owner of Havan department store, among the contributors. He also mentioned a handful of marketing companies who would have received money to send the messages.
In an e-mailed statement, the Havan chain said the newspaper "was publishing false information with a clear ideological orientation," adding that he would sue for the article.
At Yacows, an Internet marketing service mentioned in the article, a person answered the phone and said that there would be no comment to make because the company did not committed to delivering messages.
The other companies mentioned in the article did not answer the phone on Thursday afternoon.
In his tweet, Bolsonaro said that Haddad's campaign was trying to change the subject.
"The Workers Party is not affected by false information, it is affected by the truth," wrote Bolsonaro. "They stole money from the people, were arrested, faced justice, disrespected their families and plunged the country into violence and chaos."
On Thursday, a Datafolha survey revealed that Bolsonaro maintained a comfortable advantage over Haddad, with 59% support, compared to 41% for his opponent. The polling company said it polled 9,137 voters on Wednesday and Thursday, with a margin of error of two percentage points.
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Associated Press writer Stan Lehman in Sao Paulo contributed to this report.
