Thousands of supporters of conservative former President Jair Bolsonaro peacefully marched in 62 Brazilian cities on Sunday against radical leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Supreme Federal Tribunal (STF) Justice Alexandre de Moraes.
The peaceful demonstrations, titled “React, Brazil,” attracted thousands of Brazilians who expressed gratitude for the support that President Donald Trump has given to Bolsonaro amid the ongoing “coup” trial against him and for the human rights sanctions imposed against de Moraes, who is at the forefront of what Trump has called a “witch hunt” against the former president.
The peaceful protesters also called for Lula’s and de Moraes’ resignations and demanded amnesty for the hundreds of Brazilian men and women imprisoned for their participation in the January 8, 2023, protests against Lula, which spiraled out of control into a riot.
Footage of the event this weekend shows many of the followers waving American flags alongside Brazil’s and banners with “thank you” messages for the U.S. and President Trump.
According to Brazilian outlets, while the main rally was held along São Paulo’s Paulista Avenue, similar peaceful demonstrations occurred in 61 other cities such as the capital city of Brasília, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Belém, and Fortaleza. Total estimated turnout widely varies from outlet to outlet. The Brazilian news outlet Exame reported about 57,600 attendees in São Paulo alone, while G1 reported close to 37,600.
Bolsonaro could not participate in any of the rallies on Sunday after de Moraes imposed a strict curfew and other “precautionary measures” against him in July that prohibit him from leaving his home on the weekends. The judge also forced Bolsonaro to wear an electronic ankle monitor and banned him from using any social media platform under threat of arrest.
Poder 360 reported that Bolsonaro followed the peaceful event from his home while his wife Michelle Bolsonaro attended the event organized in Belem. Videos published on social media show Bolsonaro waving and saluting through his phone while wearing the electronic ankle bracelet ordered by de Moraes.
In Belem, Bolsonaro’s wife, the former first lady, reportedly expressed hope that Sunday’s demonstrations would “rekindle Brazil’s vigor to regain our freedom” and put an end to the advance of censorship in Brazil.
“Here, and in all Brazilian cities, today marks the beginning of the reaction to all the injustices committed by the current government—the government of the system,” Michelle Bolsonaro said.
Sunday’s peaceful demonstrations took place days after the United States imposed human rights sanctions against de Moraes under the Global Magnitsky Act in response to the Justice’s years-long persecution and widespread censorship of conservative voices in Brazil. Washington also accused de Moraes of violations of the fundamental freedom of speech rights of Americans through the censorship of American-based social media platforms. President Trump cited de Moraes’ persecution campaigns against Bolsonaro and other conservative figures in an executive order declaring Brazil a national security threat last week.
De Moraes, a self-declared “anti-fake news crusader,” is presently serving as rapporteur of the ongoing trial against Bolsonaro, in which the former president stands accused alongside several other individuals of allegedly plotting to stage a “coup” to overturn the results of the 2022 presidential election. Lula narrowly won a third term against Bolsonaro in that election.
President Trump also cited the “witch hunt” against Bolsonaro and the censorship orders issued by de Moraes as one of the main reasons to impose a 50-percent tariff on Brazilian goods entering the United States.
Reports published last week indicate that the human rights sanctions imposed on de Moraes appear to have caused a rift among the STF’s 11-justice panel. About half of them reportedly refused to sign a letter in support of de Moraes despite the justice’s alleged pressure and disappointment, according to unnamed sources.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
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