Secretary of Salvador arrested for reduction of the bus fleet

A Brazilian electoral justice today ordered the arrest in flagrante of the municipal secretary of Mobility of the city of Salvador due to the reduction of the fleet of buses in circulation on the day of the second round of presidential elections, indicated the local press.

The Federal Police should now heed Pablo Souza's arrest order, according to the local press.

Bahia and the Northeast as a whole constitute traditional electoral bastions of Lula. In the first round, the President obtained 5.66 million votes in Bahia, against 2.44 million Flavio Bolsonaro.

In the nine states of the Northeast, where he won in all, Lula added 21.49 million votes, against 10.40 million Flavio.

The regional electoral court also ordered concessionaires to immediately replace the entire fleet of buses in Salvador, and free transportation for all until the vote is closed and during the period necessary to ensure that voters return home.

Minutes before this decision, the governor of Bahia, state that Salvador is capital, denounced an attempt to prevent the population from voting and made available police to drive buses, after complaints of lack of transportation.

The intervention of the ruler, the Workers Party (PT), emerged after the Brazil Federation of Hope, which is part of the PT and other left-wing parties have denounced to the Electoral Justice a reduction of more than 50% of the fleet in circulation in the Bahia capital.

“ I will not accept what they are doing to the Bahian population, trying to prevent people from exercising their right to vote. We will ensure that the people are able to vote!”, he added.

The City Hall of Salvador, equivalent to the City Hall in Portugal, is led by Bruno Reis, from the Brazilian Union, who declared support to Flávio Bolsonaro in this second round.

Four years ago, October 30, 2022, day of the second round of the presidential elections Lula da Silva won against then President Jair Bolsonaro, the Federal Highway Police conducted bus supervision operations, especially in the Northeast.

According to the investigation of the Federal Police, these operations aimed to hinder or prevent the movement of voters in the regions where Lula had obtained the highest vote in the first round.

The then general director of PRF, Silvinei Vasques, was sentenced by the Supreme Court to 24 years and six months in prison in the case concerning one of the cores of the coup attempt, orchestrated by Jair Bolsonaro, who was sentenced to more than 27 years in prison.

More than 158.7 million voters will be able to vote until 17:00 in Brasilia (20:00 in Lisbon) in about 564,000 electronic ballot boxes spread across 5,571 cities in the country, as well as 186 cities abroad, such as Lisbon, Porto and Faro.

In the first round, Flávio Bolsonaro obtained 47.03% of the valid votes, against 45.16% of Lula da Silva, an advantage of 2.224,965 votes, and since the introduction of the system of two laps in Brazilian presidential, in 1989, no candidate who finished the first vote in second place managed to win the election.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, from the Workers' Party, left, and former trade unionist, seeks reelection at the age of 80 and his fourth term, while Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, from the Liberal Party and supported by the right, tries to return power to the Bolosnarist camp, four years after the father's defeat against the former worker who now tries to defeat.