Brazil’s Congress rejects voting changes amid Bolsonaro pressure

President’s proposal to switch to paper ballots falls short of majority needed for constitutional change.

Members of Brazil’s lower house of Congress have voted down a plan by far-right President Jair Bolsonaro to alter the country’s voting system despite an unusual display of military hardware by the armed forces. Politicians of all stripes called the parade of tanks, armoured personnel carriers and amphibious vehicles a form of intimidation hours before legislators voted on Tuesday on a constitutional amendment backed by Bolsonaro. Brazil’s lower house of Congress voted down the proposal with 229 votes in favour, 218 against and 1 abstention, with dozens of legislators absent. The vote fell 79 votes short of the three-fifths majority needed to approve a constitutional amendment.