The latest bout of masterful play by the far right in Brazil is playing the victim card to gain more support for the 2026 elections. Yes, Sir, that is the extremity of how things are playing out.
Elon Musk’s journalist who works at Twitter, Michael Shellenberger played the first card in creating controversy, and accusing Alexandre de Morães, a minister of Brazil’s Supreme Tribunal Court (STF) for being a legislator when he is really a judge, for gagging news. However, from my recent research it is clear that for those far-right Bolsonaro fans that the news media they are putting out there is to spread the word internationally that Brazil is run by dictators.
The South African billionaire recently declared that he will no longer accept decisions made by Minister Alexandre de Moraes about removing profiles from X and that he intends to release those who are suspended from the network. Musk also called for the minister's dismissal. In reaction, Moraes included the billionaire as being investigated in the Digital Misrepresentation investigation. The thing not clear to me, is how can a successful businessman like Musk from another country start calling the shots in Latin America?
In an interview with Marco Antonio Soalheiro, in World Politics, the journalist and executive director of Journalism Center Sérgio Spagnuolo said that Musk is entering this fight to reinforce his position as an “absolutist in Freedom of Expression” and, with that, makes a nod for the far right in Latin America. At the same time, he has economic interests to defend in X of Brazil which apparently is not meant to be profitable. Spagnuolo believes that Musk uses the method of provoking “fruitless” controversies that only serve to impoverish the public debate. He also comments on the filing of PL 2630, The Fake News PL.
There are many blogs going around internet developed by far-right supporters which are painting a very different picture about Brazil, the Government, and President. Furthermore, Eduardo Bolsonaro who managed to be included in a European parliament event used every moment to make Brazil seem like there was a conspiracy to make sure Lula won the 2022 elections. As well, at the beginning of March he took a delegation to Washington in the USA and involved political figures. (source)
He also made it seem like Morães is imprisoning unnecessarily, as he cited a seventy-one-year-old woman who used to be a school teacher and because of her participating in the parliamentary coup of January 8th, 2023 she shouldn’t be penalized by having to serve a prison sentence. Yes, the fourteen-year sentence he mentioned does seem excessive, but in reality, she shouldn’t have gone against the constitution in the first place by causing unnecessary trouble and lack of concern for the democracy. Exact details of her contribution didn't seem to be readily available.
Between January 8 and 9, 2023, authorities apprehended 2,170 people. Of these, only 66 remain imprisoned. The Federal Public Ministry (MPF), however, denounced 1,413 people for the attempted coup. Of these, 28 were convicted of most of the crimes indicated by the authorities. These decisions were made by the courts, and not exclusively the handywork of Morães. (source)
Eduardo Bolsonaro and delegation discussed punishments for Brazil with US parliamentarians. In other words, he’s making Brazil look like a banana republic.
Take care!
Prof. Carl Boniface
Vocabulary builder:
Gagging (v) = suppressing, silencing, prohibiting, banning, muzzling, restricting
Nod (n) = permission, signal, sign, affirmation, go-ahead, okey, gesture, thumbs up
Apprehended (adj) = detained, held, seized, in custody, caught, arrested, captured, take in for questioning
Handywork (n) = work done by hand, the characteristic quality of a particular doer or maker: In all of Mozart's music we discover the handiwork of a genius.