Eduardo Bolsonaro, son of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, has fought fiercely with Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. He criticized Moraes for acting “like every dictator.” Political tensions in Brazil are reaching a boiling point. In the middle of this upheaval, Justice Moraes has taken authoritarian measures against Jair Bolsonaro, banning him from social media. The situation has heightened as U.S. President Donald Trump recently threatened to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian goods starting August 1, further complicating Brazil’s political landscape.
Justice Moraes is at the moment of writing hearing a criminal case against Jair Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro is under serious allegations that he attempted to overturn the results of the 2022 election. When Moraes ruled to banish disinformation campaigns from social media, Bolsonaro called that “cowardice.” He further signaled the shakedown was not a one-off by announcing plans to keep communicating directly with the media himself. Until trial, the court has ordered him to wear an ankle bracelet. They’ve further cautioned that any attempt to evade this ruling would result in him being arrested.
Eduardo Bolsonaro did not appreciate the court’s move and expressed his contempt. He stated, “If he thinks this will make me stop, I make it clear: I will not be intimidated, and I will not be silenced. I prepared myself for this moment.” His comments capture an outsized mood among Bolsonaro supporters that see the Supreme Court’s actions as a clear power grab.
Now, he is still calling on new Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula to dismiss those charges against Jair Bolsonaro. Lula even condemned the intervention itself, decrying Washington’s ensuing visa bans on Justice Moraes and other court officials. He described these moves as “arbitrary” and “baseless.” Lula emphasized that foreign interference in Brazil’s judiciary is “unacceptable” and indicated that such actions threaten the integrity of Brazil’s democratic processes.
The political climate hasn’t gotten any less contentious. At least according to constitutional lawyer Vera Chemim, Bolsonaro would be on very thin ice after these news. She further cautioned that any media appearance that he did could end up being introduced against him as evidence. This underscores just how tenuous his hold on the position is.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has supported Eduardo Bolsonaro’s assertions, characterizing Justice Moraes’s actions as a “political witch-hunt” against Jair Bolsonaro. If this sounds like the growing consensus among certain U.S. officials at odds with the supporters of former president Bolsonaro in Brazil, that’s because it is.
As this complex situation unfolds, it remains to be seen how both Brazilian and international responses will shape the future of Brazil’s political landscape. This interaction between internal judicial challenges and external pressures drastically demonstrates the complex dynamics occurring in the country.
