São Paulo Election Court Upholds 8-Year Ban on Pablo Marçal for Social-Media Misuse

Overview

• By a 4–3 vote, the TRE-SP kept Marçal ineligible to run until 2032 and confirmed a R$420,000 fine for disobeying a judicial order.
• Judges concluded his 2024 campaign misused communication tools by orchestrating a “concurso de cortes” that paid or rewarded collaborators to spread video clips online.
• The appellate panel overturned first-instance convictions for illicit fundraising and spending as well as abuse of economic power, granting partial relief to the defense.
• TRE-SP president Silmar Fernandes cast the deciding vote after three judges backed relator Claudio José Langroiva Pereira and three dissented.
• The decision can be appealed to the TSE, and Marçal and the PRTB say they will seek reversal; the cases were brought by the PSB, the Electoral Prosecutor’s Office and councilwoman Sílvia Andrea Ferraro.