PT Files Dual Actions Against Flávio Bolsonaro as Polls Tighten Two Weeks Before First Round
By Hotspotnews
On September 23 the Workers’ Party submitted a formal request to Supreme Court Justice Flávio Dino asking the Federal Police to open an inquiry into alleged foreign interference in the 2026 presidential campaign. The request was attached to ADPF 1178, a constitutional case already under Dino’s rapporteurship that originally addressed whether unilateral acts by foreign governments or courts can produce legal effects inside Brazil. That earlier decision, issued in August 2025, involved municipalities facing lawsuits abroad over mining activity. PT lawyers argue the same principle of national sovereignty should now cover digital advertising, financial flows and political operations that originate outside Brazil.
The petition lists several specific claims. It cites advertisements published on X between September 18 and 21 by foreign accounts that carried a “paid partnership” label but did not identify the payer; those posts highlighted Flávio Bolsonaro’s rise on the prediction market Polymarket. It also points to the Rockbridge Network, a U.S. conservative organization co-founded by Vice President JD Vance, and names Brazilian businessmen alleged to have acted as intermediaries. Additional items include the sharing of material produced by Brasil Paralelo and Estúdio Quinto Elemento with the PL-linked platform Academia da Direita.
At the same time the Lula campaign filed an Ação de Investigação Judicial Eleitoral at the Superior Electoral Court against Flávio Bolsonaro, his running mate Alfredo Gaspar and Eduardo Bolsonaro. That type of action can result in the cancellation of the entire ticket and eight-year ineligibility if the court finds abuse of political or economic power.
Recent polling shows why the timing matters. Quaest (September 17–20) recorded Lula at 37 percent and Flávio Bolsonaro at 33 percent in the first round, a four-point gap at the edge of the two-point margin of error; the same survey showed a 42–41 runoff split. AtlasIntel and other firms have produced similar statistical ties. The first round is scheduled for October 4.
Opposition voices describe the two-track strategy as an attempt to keep a legal challenge alive no matter what the official count shows. They note that the same institutional tools were used to declare Jair Bolsonaro ineligible in 2023. Government-aligned voices reply that foreign funding of campaigns is already illegal and that the allegations require investigation before ballots are cast.
The formal process remains in place: votes will be counted and results announced. The open institutional question is how far the TSE and STF will go if the result is close.
Sources: G1, Estadão, CNN Brasil, O Tempo, Valor Econômico, Quaest, AtlasIntel.
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