AI-generated summary
Brazil is in a tense election campaign, with incumbent Lula da Silva and right-wing candidate Flávio Bolsonaro narrowly ahead. The Supreme Court is in the spotlight of public debate due to allegations of overstepping its authority and possible links to financial fraud cases.
Brazil's Attorney General Jorge Messias has warned against US interference in Brazilian institutions following a report on planned US funding for critics of the Supreme Court. The report is an important warning signal for Brazilian sovereignty, said Messias on Platform X. The presidential election will take place in the largest country in Latin America on Sunday.
One million dollars for justice critics
According to research by the British newspaper "The Guardian", one million dollars from a US State Department fund is earmarked for a program entitled "Countering Lawfare and Censorship in Brazil". The money is intended to finance civil society groups that accuse the Brazilian Supreme Court of exceeding its powers and of censorship. It is unclear whether the money has already been transferred or whether it has just been tied up in budgetary terms.
“This information is particularly worrying given the Brazilian electoral process and recent incidents in which external pressure has been exerted on our institutions,” Messias wrote. It should not be accepted that “foreign political interests attempt to intervene in the functioning of Brazilian institutions or to influence, directly or indirectly, the decisions that belong exclusively to the Brazilian people.”
The government's Attorney General's Office, headed by Messias, therefore asked the police and public prosecutor's office to investigate possible recipients of the funds, as the Agência Brasil news agency reported.
The Supreme Court has recently been at the center of social debate - for example in connection with one of the country's largest financial fraud cases, in which possible connections to a judge of the court are also being publicly discussed.
Worry about influence
The Brazilian government has seen the danger of foreign influence in the presidential election for some time. According to Agência Brasil, the Brazilian secret service Abin pointed out a risk from the USA and increasing pressure on Brazil in a report prepared at the end of August.
The latest polls show incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and the right-wing senator Flávio Bolsonaro - son of former President Jair Bolsonaro - almost neck-to-neck and well ahead of the other candidates. A runoff election is considered likely.
US President Donald Trump is considered a supporter of Jair Bolsonaro. The former head of state, who ruled between 2019 and 2022, was sentenced to more than 27 years in prison for his involvement in an attempted coup. For health reasons, the ex-military man is currently serving his sentence under house arrest.
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
The Brazilian Attorney General's Office will investigate possible recipients of the US funds.
Very likely · Within days
Brazil's presidential election is expected to go to a runoff.
Likely · Within days

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