The former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro gathered thousands of his supporters in São Paulo on Saturday, where he once again attacked the Supreme Court judge who is investigating him and Elon Musk, amid the controversy over the suspension of social network X in the country.
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On the national holiday of Independence, protesters chanted slogans in favor of “democracy” and “freedom” and They demanded the dismissal of Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes, who a week ago blocked access to the social network owned by tycoon Elon Musk, an ally of Bolsonaro.
“We must put a stop to those who cross the boundaries of our Constitution,” Bolsonaro said, standing on a platform overlooking a sea of people dressed in yellow and green, the colours of the Brazilian flag.
He then mentioned the request for the impeachment of Judge Moraes, which is due to be presented to the Senate on Monday by right-wing parliamentarians.
“I hope the Senate will stop Alexandre de Moraes, this dictator who is doing even more harm to Brazil than Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva himself,” the current president, who defeated him in his bid for re-election in 2022, Bolsonaro said.
I hope the Senate will stop Alexandre de Moraes, this dictator who is doing even more harm to Brazil than Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva himself.
De Moraes, one of the eleven magistrates of the high court, is currently the public enemy number one of the right that Bolsonaro embodies. and at this Saturday’s protest he was the target of all criticism.
He has several cases in which Bolsonaro is under investigation, including one for allegedly plotting a coup against Lula and another for spreading fake news and seriously attacking democratic institutions.
It was he who decided to block X – with 22 million users in the South American giant – on August 30th. among other reasons for the reactivation of accounts of Bolsonarists that he had ordered to be suspended for spreading false information
While for the right the blocking of X is an attack on freedom of expression, for the left led by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, This is a fair measure against the false information that Musk allows on his platform.
On Avenida Paulista, the face of South African businessman Musk appeared on several posters with slogans against the Supreme Court, and specifically against De Moraes, who was subjected to serious insults such as “criminal”, “censor” and “dictator”.
Before Bolsonaro, the governor of the state of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas, tipped as a possible political successor to Bolsonaro, invited those present to “not let freedom die.”
“We are here to say that there should be no censorship, no blocking of social networks. We want to pacify this country,” he said in a moderate tone.
More heated was the intervention of the influential evangelical pastor Silas Malafaia, who financed the demonstration and accused De Moraes of “tearing up the Constitution.” “De Moraes must be removed from office and sent to jail,” he said.
Another of the demands of Bolsonaro and his allies was to demand that Congress grant amnesty for those convicted who, on January 8, 2023, attacked the headquarters of the three powers, in Brasilia, to incite a military intervention against Lula.
‘Suspending X is taking away our freedom’: Protesters
The demonstration was peaceful, except for a few isolated incidents, such as the throwing of eggs from some of the apartments in the area against Bolsonarists.
The supporters of the former head of state dressed in green and yellow, and wrapped themselves in the flags of Israel and Brazil, which were mixed with posters featuring the presidents of Argentina, Javier Milei, and El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, as well as former US president Donald Trump.
Joana Popular, a 35-year-old micro-entrepreneur, traveled 2,000 kilometers from the state of Bahia, traditionally a granary of Lula’s votes, to join the Bolsonarist campaign against the judiciary.
“Suspending X is taking away our freedom. We cannot let this go on,” this former user of the X platform told Efe.
“The Supreme Court is overstepping its powers. They are judicial activists. Musk is doing well because illegal orders are not carried out,” said another 45-year-old protester.
For its part, Lula led the civic-military parade on Saturday to mark Independence Day in Brasilia.
Some thirty military athletes who participated in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games took part in the parade in the federal capital, including Caio Bonfim, who displayed his silver medal won in the 20-kilometre walk.
He did not make any political speech, but the day before he gave one on national television in which he stressed that his government will “always be intolerant of anyone, no matter how fortunate they are, who challenges Brazilian legislation,” in apparent reference to Musk.
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