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The candidate from União Brasil has been running inserts with old quotes from André Fernandes (PL) in order to criticize him; the two are engaged in legal battles After suffering a decline in voting intentions in the last Datafolha poll, Capitão Wagner (União Brasil) increased his criticism of his opponent, André Fernandes (PL), and continues to use his election time slot to bring up old quotes in order to tarnish his image. In the most recent insert, he claims that the PL federal deputy "jokes about pedophilia". According to Datafolha, Fernandes grew nine percentage points and now has 25%. Wagner, on the other hand, went from 29% to 23%. The margin of error is three points. — Always involved in scandals, André Fernandes jokes about serious issues such as pedophilia. In his defense, he said he was being ironic. Among the absurdities, André taught people how to shave their private parts, and as an excuse he said he was young. A congressman had his term suspended for accusing a colleague without proof. He backed down and said it was due to inexperience. When life in Fortaleza gets worse, what excuse will André give? — says the announcer.

The quote mentioned by Captain Wagner's campaign refers to two posts by André Fernandes in 2012, when the candidate was fourteen years old and making videos for YouTube. In one, he wrote "'Uncle, what is pedophilia?' 'Come here, niece, sit on my lap so I can explain it to you' and in the other, he said he had the courage to date a twelve-year-old girl. In this context, André Fernandes filed a lawsuit with the Electoral Court asking for the suspension of the post, claiming that Wagner intended to portray him as a pedophile. Judge Ernani Pires Paula Pessoa Júnior denied the challenge. "The candidate's statements were not taken out of context, to the point of giving another idea of ​​the speech. The phrase was actually said by the candidate and was highlighted in countless news articles, many of which are still available on the internet," says an excerpt from the decision.

Offensive This is not the first time that Captain Wagner and André Fernandes have fought legal battles over inserts in this campaign. Last week, an advertisement by Wagner was suspended for using a video in which the Bolsonaro supporter snorted salt as part of an online challenge. On television, however, the União Brasil candidate broadcast the scene, making an association with cocaine use. "Do you trust him (André Fernandes) to fight crime?" said the announcer. In a press conference on Friday, Wagner said that the inserts were not intended to offend Fernandes, but he acknowledged the electoral context behind them. " We are part of a niche of the electorate that is divided between voting for me and him, and voters need to compare the two candidates," he said.