Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court (TSE) has allowed artist-led demonstrations backing democratic institutions and attended by supporters of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to go ahead, rejecting a request by the Novo party to suspend them before they took place.¹

Novo argued that the events, scheduled during the second-round campaign in cities including Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and Porto Alegre, could amount to prohibited showmícios — concerts or similar performances used to promote a candidacy. The party said the participation of artists supportive of Lula, combined with the timing of the events, suggested they would operate as campaign gatherings rather than independent civic demonstrations.²

Electoral inspector Ricardo Villas Bôas Cueva took a narrower view. He found that Novo had not presented enough evidence to show the events were part of Lula’s official campaign programme, or that they had a legal, financial or organisational connection to it. The coincidence with the election calendar and organisers’ political sympathies, he said, did not by themselves establish that link.¹

The ruling also rejected Novo’s request for organisers to submit financial documents. Cueva said suspending the demonstrations without sufficient evidence of wrongdoing would impose a disproportionate restriction on freedom of expression and assembly.²

That does not amount to a blanket declaration that every performance is lawful. The court said any explicit appeals for votes, improper use of funds or other conduct that could constitute illegal electoral advertising may still be examined later. The decision therefore preserves the events while leaving enforcement available if their content or organisation crosses the legal boundary between civic protest and campaign promotion.²