Ministry of Human Rights reports 831 reports of electoral harassment and political violence

The MDHC (Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship) recorded 831 reports of political violence and electoral harassment in the period from September 11th to November 6th.

The digital environment and social networks appear in 544 complaints. There are also records linked to residences or private properties (65), electoral campaigns or activities (42), workplaces (34), public spaces (31) and schools or universities (30).

The data was gathered by the National Secretariat for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights, and comes from Dial 100 and other institutional channels, including bodies from a task force that the department formed with other ministries.

Most of the complaints were made after the 2nd round, held on October 25th. Throughout the month, there were 704 registrations, and from October 26th to November 1st alone, there were 609. In the first six days of November, there were 120.

According to the ministry, the survey serves to identify the characteristics of reported violations and monitor the sending of complaints to the responsible bodies. It must also guide coordination between institutions to prevent this type of violence.

Among the most frequent categories, hate speech and extremism is the one with the highest number of records (395), according to the department, corresponding to almost half of the total. Then comes economic discrimination (120) — which includes boycotts, persecution lists and restriction of access to goods and services — and incitement to violence (81).

The ministry also classified 51 reports of coercion, dismissal, retaliation or restriction of hiring at work, 45 of physical violence and assaults and 38 of impediment of the right to vote.

São Paulo is the state with the most records (204), followed by Santa Catarina (81), Minas Gerais (71) and Rio de Janeiro (66). The survey also includes a complaint made in each of three countries, Paraguay, Poland and Portugal.

The complaints generated more than 1,200 referrals to investigation and inspection bodies, according to the ministry. This happens because the same complaint can be sent to more than one institution. Among the bodies that received the cases are the Civil Police, the Public Ministry, guardianship councils and human rights network services.

After the vote, Folha showed insults to people from the Northeast and scholarship holders in groups of medical students, cases of political bullying in schools, in addition to the circulation of boycott lists for companies and calls to fire left-wing workers.

The MTE (Ministry of Labor and Employment) received 4,300 reports of electoral harassment at work in the first three days of the channel it launched on October 28, according to the ministry. The numbers from the Human Rights and Labor portfolio come from different channels.