Brazil’s right rallies for ‘freedom’ on Sept 7 after X social platform blow

SAO PAULO – Led by beleaguered Brazilian ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s political right will rally for “democracy and freedom” on Sept 7 amid a free speech tussle that has seen

X, their preferred social platform, suspended in the country

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He called for the demonstration in Latin America’s biggest city, Sao Paulo, on Independence Day – which will be celebrated in the capital Brasilia with a parade overseen by leftist Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Mr Bolsonaro in a video urged protesters to turn out en masse in green and yellow – the colours of the Brazilian flag but also co-opted by his supporters.

“There is no point celebrating our independence if we are deprived of freedom,” he said in a post on Instagram.

At the rally, Mr Bolsonaro will be hoping to show his political clout a month before municipal elections in the deeply divided country.

He left office nearly two years ago after a razor-thin election defeat to his arch-rival, Mr Lula.

That prompted so-called Bolsonaristas to storm the presidential palace, Congress and Supreme Court on Jan 8, 2023, calling for the military to oust Mr Lula and claiming, without evidence, that the election was stolen.

Mr Bolsonaro, dubbed the “Tropical Trump”, is under investigation for an alleged coup attempt over those events.

Toga-clad dictator

Mr Bolsonaro and the far right are at war with Judge Alexandre de Moraes who presided over the Tribunal Superior Eleitoral or TSE electoral tribunal when it banned the ex-president from running for office until 2030 over his attempts to discredit Brazil’s electoral system.

Judge Moraes, who has taken on the mantle of an anti-disinformation crusader, is leading several other investigations into Mr Bolsonaro and it was he who ordered the suspension in Brazil of X for breaching local laws.

The right hates Judge Moraes and accuses him of censorship and abuse of office.

Mr Bolsonaro has described his ruling against X as a “blow to our freedom and legal security, which will drive away foreign investors and have adverse consequences in all spheres of public life in Brazil”.

Mr Lula has come out in support of the fight against “fake news”.

The Sept 7 demonstration was called before Judge Moraes blocked the social media platform X.

One of its organisers, evangelical pastor Silas Malafaia, urged followers to come out in numbers to demand “the removal of the toga-clad dictator Alexandre de Moraes”.

Members of the right-wing opposition in Brazil’s Senate have said they will file for Judge Moraes’ impeachment next week – a move welcomed by X owner Elon Musk.

Mr Bolsonaro has travelled the country widely in recent months to boost allies who will be seeking office in October local elections.

On Sept 7, “we will see the true extent of Bolsonarism”, political science researcher Geraldo Monteiro, at the University of Rio de Janeiro, told AFP, in reference to the turnout.

In his social media appeal, Mr Bolsonaro asked supporters to “not take part in the independence ceremonies organised by the government”.

In February, a pro-Bolsonaro rally also in Sao Paulo gathered about 185,000 people, according to an estimate from researchers at the University of Sao Paulo. Another in Rio in April gathered fewer people.

The Sept 7 rally is expected to start at 2pm GMT (10pm Singapore time), while in Brasilia, Mr Lula is expected to attend a parade accompanied by 30 military athletes who had competed in the Paris Olympic Games. AFP