04/21/2024 – 16:47
With investigations into the attempted coup d'état advancing more and more, the act in defense of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) in Rio de Janeiro, this Sunday, 21st, was intended to unify his electoral base and intimidate the Supreme Court. Federal Court (STF) to push the possibility of its trial.
“The demonstration aims to create a climate of tension so as not to have a decision on the former president’s arrest in September. This is the date that is being circulated by sources in Brasília”, says sociologist, political scientist and president of Instituto Cultiva, Rudá Ricci.
In a year of municipal elections, Rudá highlights that the act also aimed to show the strength of the Bolsonarist base to compete in this electoral race. “Bolsonarism disputes the terrain with Centrão, which has the most federal deputies and who are linked to mayors”, says the sociologist.
Political scientist and professor at PUC Minas, Malco Camargos, observes that the act demonstrated popular strength, but that institutional strength still remains paramount. “Bolsonaro has carried popular strength since he was president, but electoral and institutional strength overlap. Thus, the game becomes more critical for the former president and he desperately seeks to join those who still believe that he is being persecuted by the courts,” said Camargos.
Political persecution, in the view of political scientist and professor at Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie, Rodrigo Prando, is a narrative created by Bolsonaro and his supporters, which is not supported by reality data, it manages to place him in a victimized situation. “This aspect happened at the time in São Paulo and it happened again at this time”, he states.
Elon Musk
What differentiated the act in Copacabana (RJ) from the demonstration in the capital of São Paulo was the defense of the Bolsonaro base against businessman Elon Musk, owner of X, Tesla, SpaceX and the Starlink satellite network, who has been fighting with the minister from STF Alexande de Moraes.
“Both Bolsonaro and Musk position themselves as the heralds of freedom of expression, but deep down the figures of Bolsonaroism not only used freedom of expression but also constructed hate speeches, committed crimes and carried out systematic attacks on institutions”, says Prando.
In today's event, the former president said that the controller of X (formerly Twitter) showed “with evidence” where “Brazilian democracy was going”. The businessman became involved in a stir when he criticized the suspension, by the Brazilian courts, of accounts on the social network X that propagated fake news.
The political scientist, collaborator of the Center for Political-Strategic Studies of the Navy, Maurício Santoro was concise: “The businessman has become a character in Brazilian party disputes”, he stated.
Santoro also assesses that pro-Bolsonaro forces face many restrictions in the field of digital media, especially due to the STF investigation into fake news. “It’s a more complicated scenario for them than in 2018, when there were practically no legal obstacles to their actions on social media.”
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