Photo of Moraes and ‘distortion of democracy’: the debate in the US Chamber on ‘censorship’ in Brazil

BRASÍLIA – Hearing of the Foreign Relations Committee of the United States House of Representatives held this Tuesday, 7th, debated alleged “censorship” by the Minister of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) Alexandre de Moraes against virtual platforms. During the session, a Republican deputy showed a photo of the magistrate, while listing alleged illegalities committed by him. Another congresswoman, a Democrat, classified the meeting as presenting a “distorted vision of Brazilian democracy”. O Estadão He sought out the STF, but received no response.

During the session, Republican deputy Maria Elvira Salazar showed a photo of Moraes to the other parliamentarians and said that the minister was giving orders for X (formerly Twitter), billionaire Elon Musk’s social network, to take down posts by conservative politicians.

“There are two facts here that I think can clarify who Mr. de Moraes is. The first fact: he gave the order to take down a post that said that Lula da Silva (the president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva) supported Daniel Ortega, the dictator of Nicaragua. Why can’t Brazilians know this? The second fact: he gave Twitter one hour to take down conservative politicians’ posts or they would receive a $30,000 fine. What if the email arrived 30 minutes later? They would have another 30 minutes or face a $30,000 fine,” he said.

Documents released by the Republican wing of the Justice Committee of the US House of Representatives last month show that Moraes’ orders provided for daily fines of R$100,000 in case of non-compliance, the equivalent of around US$20,000, and not $30,000 an hour.

The report became public after Elon Musk, who also owns the super car maker Tesla and the aerospace engineering producer SpaceX, publicly accused Moraes of “promoting censorship” with decisions about content and profiles on the social network. In response, the minister included the businessman in the digital militias investigation.

Democratic deputy said the hearing presented a ‘distorted view of Brazilian democracy’

Democratic congresswoman Susan Wild questioned the competence of the US Congress to debate democracy in Brazil and stated that the discussion could harm relations between the two countries. Wild also confronted the president of the collegiate, Republican Michael McCaul, asking what the commission’s initiative was to discuss the alleged attempted coup d’état after the 2022 elections, which is being investigated by the Federal Police (PF) and has the former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) as target.

“Unfortunately, the context of this hearing presents a distorted view of Brazilian democracy and provides a platform for those who want to undermine it. (…) Where was the hearing on Brazilian democracy when we learned about President Bolsonaro’s efforts to foment a military coup?” asked Wild.

When opening the session, McCaul argued that the United States government must act “vigorously” to guarantee greater freedom for politicians who are being “persecuted” by the country’s judiciary. According to him, Brazilians are dealing with democracy “dying in broad daylight.”

“It is an act of democracy for freedom in Brazil that will require the US government to more vigorously engage with Brazil in the fight for freedom and human rights. The great reality in Brazil is that democracy is dying in broad daylight”, said the president of the American collegiate.

Grandson of the president of the dictatorship refused to repudiate the period in which the military ruled the country

The session also heard from economist and blogger Paulo Figueiredo Filho, who was one of the targets of Operation Tempus Veritatis, launched in February. The operation investigates the participation of ministers, advisors and high-ranking military personnel in an alleged criminal organization that planned ways to prevent President Lula from taking office to keep Bolsonaro in power.

Paulo Figueiredo Filho is the grandson of João Baptista Figueiredo, the last president of the military dictatorship (1964-1985). According to the PF, he was part of a group responsible for inciting military personnel to join the coup. The accusations against the blogger revolve around appearances he made on television programs and on social media.

Democratic congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove asked the blogger if he was being investigated for the coup attempt and if he repudiated the period in which the military governed the country. Figueiredo Filho refused to answer both questions. “That has nothing to do with this discussion,” he said.

At another point in the session, Figueiredo Filho stated that he agrees with Bolsonaro’s decision to encourage the celebration of March 31st (the day that began the 1964 military coup) in the barracks. According to the blogger, the dictatorship was a way to prevent the spread of communism in the country.

“We didn’t want communists to be part of Brazil like they were in Cuba and other countries. I come from a family that has been fighting for democracy for a long time and this is my grandfather’s legacy, restoring full democracy in Brazil,” said Figueiredo.

The hearing was closed after the end of Figueiredo’s testimony, who was invited by congressmen to the meeting. There is no plan for a new meeting of the collegiate to debate the supposed censorship of the Brazilian Judiciary.