FILE PHOTO: Demonstrators take part in a protest for democracy and free elections and against Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro, at Paulista Avenue in Sao Paulo, Brazil, August 11, 2022. The sign on the inflatable electronic voting machine reads "Respect the vote" REUTERS/Carla Carniel/File Photo
BRASILIA (Reuters) - As President Jair Bolsonaro lays the groundwork to contest a potential defeat in an October election, Brazil's courts, congressional leadership, business groups and civil society are closing ranks to shore up trust in the integrity of the vote.
Even leaders of the armed forces, now more entwined in government than at any point since a 1964-1985 military dictatorship, offer private assurances to former peers that they want no part in disrupting democratic order, according to a half dozen former officials with close ties to military leadership.
