Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro told evangelical leaders in a meeting on Saturday that “I have three alternatives for my future: being arrested, killed or victory” with regard to the 2022 presidential election, Reuters reported.
However, Bolsonaro vowed that no one would intimidate him amid growing unrest in a country that has criticized him for not adhering to masking guidelines and is investigating him for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. He has also been accused of spreading misinformation about the coronavirus, with YouTube pulling videos from his channel in July.
The far-right president has also cast doubts on the electronic voting system in Brazil, claiming that it can succumb to fraud and has argued that the country instead use printed receipts, the wire service reported.
YouTube recently suspended the pay of 14 channels’ creators amid allegations that they’ve spread misinformation about the 2022 election, many of whom are supporters of Bolsonaro.
Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court has criticized the idea of the country using printed ballots, and current and former Supreme Court justices have stated that no fraud exists within the country’s voting system, Reuters reported.
Former Brazilian President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva, who is running against Bolsonaro, has claimed that the far-right president was trying to take the public’s attention away from the country’s poverty and unemployment by focusing on the issue of paper ballots, The New York Times reported.
According to a PoderData poll conducted between Aug. 2 and Aug. 4, if the 2022 election were to happen today, Bolsnaro would lose to da Silva 52 percent to 32 percent head to head.