The plenary of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) decided today (4), by 5 to 2, to revoke the mandate of the mayor of Brusque, Ari Vequi (MDB), for abuse of economic power in the 2020 election campaign. reason for using the structure of the retailer Havan, the city’s largest company, in his favor, in successive videos published by businessman Luciano Hang, known as Véio da Havan, on social networks. By decision, Hang itself is ineligible until 2028, for having practiced the abuse of economic power – the period is equivalent to the eight years provided for in the Clean Record Law, but counted from the municipal elections of 2020. With the decision, the TSE reverts judgment of the Regional Electoral Court of Santa Catarina (TRE-SC), which had not seen abuse of economic power in the campaign promoted by Hang in favor of Vequi. The regional court considered that the sequence of videos published by the businessman was a mere political opinion protected by freedom of expression. The original lawsuit had been filed by Podemos, PT, PSB and the Green Party, who appealed to the TSE. The rapporteur of the case, Minister Ricardo Lewandowski, considered that it would not be possible to reverse the decision of the TRE-SC, since it would be necessary to re-examine the evidence, which would not be allowed by case law. However, according to the vote, the president of the TSE, Minister Alexandre de Moraes, decided not to consider this procedural issue, given what he considered robust evidence of the abuse of economic power. He pointed out the repeated use of Havan’s logo and assets – including trucks, stores and human resources – to carry out a “parallel campaign”, without accountability, in favor of Vequi and against the other candidates. Moraes highlighted what he considered to be the most serious examples of this undue action. In one of the videos published on social networks, with around 180,000 views, Hang wears a Havan shirt and promotes a kind of political event with employees in one of its stores, on November 14, 2022, the eve of the municipal elections. In this video, Hang simulates interviews with employees, who are asked if they will “vote right” for mayor. Moraes stressed that such behavior configures, in theory, also the crime of electoral harassment. The minister urged the Electoral Public Ministry (MPE) to investigate the case. “In this context, it is imperative for the Superior Electoral Court, based on the succession of facts narrated, to assess the legitimacy of Luciano Hang’s performance in the context of the electoral dispute or whether the behaviors practiced, through the undue linking of the legal entity Lojas Havan with the campaign, represented a breach of the isonomy of the election in favor of the Defendant candidates [Ari Vequi e seu vice, Gilmar Doerner], resulting from the abuse of economic power,” said Moraes. The ministers Cármen Lúcia, Benedito Gonçalves, Sergio Banhos and Carlos Horbach followed the understanding of the president of the TSE. The rapporteur, Lewandowski, and the minister Raul Araújo were defeated. By decision, the annulment of the diplomas of Mayor Ari Vequi (MDB) and Gilmar Doerner (Republicans) must be communicated to TRE-SC and take immediate effect, without having to wait for the publication of the judgment (collegiate decision) of the TSE. Agência Brasil tries to contact the defense of the people mentioned in the report.
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