José Antonio Dias Toffoli, a judge of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) and close to the dictator Lula da Silva, ordered to suspend the presidential campaign of right-wing candidate Renan Santos from the Missão Party, due to an unusual "irregularity" related to the registration of his social media profiles.
The measure does not imply, for now, the disqualification of Santos from the presidential race: his candidacy is still under review and the authoritarian magistrate granted him 24 hours to provide explanations before considering any sanctions on his registration.
Toffoli's resolution restricts Santos's campaign from conducting electoral propaganda on the internet, using profiles that have not been "timely reported" to the Electoral Justice, participating in debates and interviews on radio, television, podcasts, and other media, in addition to preventing new withdrawals from the Special Fund for Campaign Financing (FEFC).
Renan Santos
However, Santos pointed out that his campaign does not use public funds, instead relying on private donations and crowdfunding.
The case has provoked reactions from across the political spectrum, including presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro, who expressed hope that the campaign would be restored and compared the situation to the social media blocking and imprisonment suffered by his father by order of another judge close to Lula, Alexandre de Moraes.
The unusual excuse for the sanction
The origin of the measure lies in the presentation of the candidacy made on August 7. At that time, Santos and his running mate, Aroldo Medina, reported some of their digital channels.
However, on August 19, they added another 16 profiles through a supplementary presentation, 12 days after the initial registration. Among the accounts mentioned by the magistrate is a profile with approximately 2.4 million followers.
Flavio Bolsonaro and Jair Bolsonaro
For this reason, the judge allied with Lula described the situation as a possible “strategic omission” and argued that the lack of information could create a "advantage" over other candidates.
The severity of the sanction has generated strong political and legal questioning. Santos's defense considered the decision disproportionate and argues that any irregularity in the declaration of profiles should be analyzed through the appropriate procedures, with the right to defense, and not through a restriction that practically paralyzes the main communication channels of a presidential campaign.
Santos, founder of the Movimento Brasil Livre (MBL), denounced that the decision represents a clear political persecution and linked it to his criticisms of Toffoli and the marches against the Banco Master. After learning of the resolution, he harshly criticized the magistrate and stated: “I am paying the price for what I defended; hundreds of other candidacies did the same.”
The candidate had also publicly anticipated that he considered an individual decision that could affect the development of an electoral campaign to be illegitimate. After the resolution, his profiles began to be blocked and closed, while his team prepared the legal offensive to try to overturn the authoritarian measure.
José Antonio Dias Toffoli
A judge close to Lula
The situation also generates controversy due to Toffoli's past. The magistrate was appointed to the Supreme Federal Court (STF) in 2009 by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, after having worked as a lawyer for the Workers' Party and in the legal structure linked to Lula himself.
The confrontation also occurs in a context of strong questioning from Santos and the MBL towards Toffoli for his actions in the Banco Master case.
The Banco Master scandal, the largest banking fraud in Brazil's history, with estimated losses exceeding R$ 52 billion for the Credit Guarantee Fund (FGC), was assigned to Toffoli as an instructor judge (relator) in the STF in November 2025.
For now, the central point is that Renan Santos has been suspended from a large part of his campaign, especially his digital presence, participation in debates, and access to financing.
