Tens of thousands of conservatives rallied in Sao Paulo on Saturday, Brazil's Independence Day, to support former President Jair Bolsonaro and denounce the Supreme Court's recent ban on the social media site Twitter (X), among other things.
Participants in the rally described theirs as a rally in defense of freedom amid growing censorship and political repression under Socialist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Brazil's highest court, the Federal Tribunal (STF), became a target of many of the protesters' opposition as the country faced an increasingly crackdown on conservatives. Under STF Minister of Justice Alexandre de Moraes, the organization has declared war on “fake news” and conducted police raids on members of parliament, YouTube celebrities, and other outspoken conservatives.
De Moraes has taken other bold steps to silence conservatives, including banning media discussion of Lula's corruption conviction during the 2022 presidential election while allowing Lula to falsely smear Bolsonaro as a “cannibal” and, more recently, banning him from using Twitter in Brazil.
Bolsonaro, who is barred from running for president until 2030, has become a fixture at conservative events across Brazil. On Saturday, the former president Delivered Addressing the crowd, he urged Brazilians to find a way to “put the brakes on those who exceed the limits of our constitution.”
Bolsonaro called De Moraes a particular threat to Brazilian democracy and urged the Brazilian Senate to put the “brakes” on STF judges, saying “this dictator has done more harm to Brazil than Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.”
The Senate Expected They plan to file articles of impeachment against De Moraes on Monday.
Among other remarks, President Bolsonaro again Condemnation Regarding his loss to three-time president Lula in the 2022 elections, the STF cited “deficiencies in the electoral system,” a very sensitive issue in Brazilian politics as the STF seeks to censor “fake news.” In fact, in November 2022, the Brazilian Ministry of Defense announced that the electoral system had “vulnerabilities” that created “potential security risks in the program generation of electronic voting machines.” However, the Ministry of Defense stressed in a statement that it had not found conclusive evidence of fraud.
President Bolsonaro also called for an amnesty for those arrested during the anti-socialist riots that took place in Brasilia on January 8, 2023, in which protesters caused extensive property damage to the STF Court, the Brazilian Congress, and the Presidential Palace.
The event was attended by the former president and several conservative speakers, including Sao Paulo state Governor Tarcisio de Freitas, who reinforced the view that the STF and Lula's government are undermining democracy in the country.
“Freedom must be a leafy tree, and this tree must bear fruit. The fruit of this tree is democracy, free enterprise, and prosperity,” Tarcisio said. said The crowd said, “If this tree withers, the fruit withers, and if the fruit withers, our future withers.”
Supporters of former Polish President Jair Bolsonaro attend an event on Paulista Avenue in the center of São Paulo, Brazil, on September 7, 2024. (Fabio Vieira/FotoRua/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Tarcisio said Brazil's left has criticized Bolsonaro for threatening democracy during his time in office, but the former president did not silence any media or “sacrifice freedoms.” He also condemned the Twitter ban, but refrained from naming De Moraes.
“We cannot tolerate this lack of legal tolerance at a time when technology is booming and Brazil could be on the brink of economic growth,” Tarcisio said, accusing the STF of scaring off foreign companies. “They are trying to scare us off investments.”
An attendee explicitly told AFP: It is called To remove De Moraes from the STF.
“I'm here to demand the dismissal of Alexandre de Moraes. His actions are unacceptable,” architect Emilia Lapoli, 35, told the news agency. “He ignores the constitution and makes the laws as he pleases.”
AFP reported that another speaker at the event, Pastor Silas Malafaia, called not only for De Moraes' impeachment but also for his imprisonment. “Criminals should go to jail!”
The event was attended by 45,000 people. According to Estimates from the Digital Media Political Debate Monitor at the University of São Paulo.
De Moraes emerged as a villain for Brazilian conservatives, primarily due to his campaign against online “fake news” during Bolsonaro's 2019-2023 term in office. One of the STF's boldest acts against conservatives came in 2020, when a court ordered 29 violent police raids against various online commentators, comedians and other known Bolsonaro supporters for spreading “fake news.” Some of those targeted at the time, such as conservative journalist Alan dos Santos, have since fled the country.
A year later, the STF ordered the arrest of then-Congressman Daniel Silveira after he posted a video on YouTube accusing STF ministers of having “no character, conscience or morals.” The STF accused Silveira of inciting violence against the state. Silveira's 2022 attempt to barricade himself in Brazil's Congress appeared to end with a pardon from President Bolsonaro shortly thereafter, but the STF overturned the pardon when Lula returned to power in 2023.
The STF, and De Moraes in particular, recently focused on Twitter, which was a hugely popular forum for political debate in Brazil until a court banned it in August. De Moraes ordered the social media company to appoint legal representatives in Brazil to ensure a direct line of communication with the court. Twitter's owner, Elon Musk, refused, effectively banning Twitter in the country.
Lula, who was once an avid user of the platform, praised the STF's decision.
“Just because Musk is rich does not mean the world has to put up with his far-right ideology,” Lula told CNN Brazil.
