Alto Taquari councilor Michel Lucas loses mandate after racist conviction
The Electoral Public Ministry (MPE) secured the removal of Michel Lucas Rocha Souza, a councilor from Alto Taquari in Mato Grosso, following the final conviction for qualified electoral injury and racism. The court sentenced him to one year, two months and 25 days in an open‑regime prison and imposed a fine; the ruling became definitive on 14 May 2026 after the Superior Electoral Court rejected his appeal.
The ministry argued that a definitive criminal conviction automatically suspends political rights, and the council formally declared the mandate extinct on 19 June 2026. The vacancy was filled by the designated substitute. The case stemmed from Lucas's campaign remarks that denigrated an elderly doctor and labeled opposition supporters with racial slurs such as “macacos.”
The decision underscores the enforcement of Brazil’s constitutional provisions against racism and electoral misconduct at the municipal level.