Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Saturday again attacked the judiciary and called the Supreme Court judge who is investigating him and billionaire Elon Musk in a case for the mass dissemination of fake news a “dictator.”
“I hope the Senate will put a stop to Alexandre de Moraes, this dictator who is doing more harm to Brazil than President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva himself,” the far-right leader demanded during a demonstration in São Paulo in defense of “freedom” and “democracy” on the occasion of Independence Day.
De Moraes is one of the eleven judges of the Supreme Court and is in charge of several cases against Bolsonaro, including one for allegedly orchestrating a coup against Lula.
The judge is also investigating another case related to the dissemination of fake news on social media, in which he ordered the suspension of X after Elon Musk, owner of the social network, refused to delete a series of suspicious profiles.
In front of thousands of his supporters, Bolsonaro called for stopping, “through the legislative mechanisms” available, all those who “go beyond the limits set by the Constitution.”
In this context, he expressed confidence that a possible victory by former president and Republican leader Donald Trump in the elections next November in the United States would serve to “send a message to all the dictators of the world and especially to Brazil.”
Bolsonaro also raised unfounded suspicions about his defeat in the 2022 presidential elections, in which Lula emerged victorious by a narrow margin and which, in his opinion, were conducted “partially” by the Superior Electoral Court, the institution that organizes the elections in the country.
“They want to censor the truth,” he exclaimed during his speech on the central Avenida Paulista in São Paulo.
He said that he left power and that later, on June 30, 2023, he was politically disqualified for eight years, because, in his opinion, “he made the system uncomfortable.”
The far-right leader also called for an amnesty for the prisoners who, on January 8, 2023, attacked the headquarters of the three powers in Brasilia to incite a military intervention against Lula.
“That was never a coup d’état (…) We have to grant amnesty to those convicted on January 8,” he demanded.
Several legal experts have warned that Bolsonaro risks being arrested if he publicly incites the commission of any crime, “with statements that support a coup or undermine democratic institutions.”
This would mean “a new practice of crime within a context in which he is already being investigated for such crimes,” according to sources consulted by EFE.
Brasilia / EFE
#Bolsonaro #calls #Supreme #Court #judge #investigating #Elon #Musk #dictator
2024-09-08 12:10:31
