Still losing in the polls, Bolsonaro tries a show of force
written by Claudia Fanti
Published on
September 10, 2021
On the eve of the stormiest September 7 in Brazil’s recent history, many have asked themselves the question: how long will the attacks on democracy be tolerated? How can a president be allowed to take advantage of the Brazilian Independence Day to explicitly threaten the institutions of the state, and keep the whole country on edge?
In the first of the two speeches he made on Tuesday—at the time of writing, the demonstrations were still ongoing—Bolsonaro chose to put on a highbrow tone: “I will continue to act within the confines of the Constitution, but from now on I will no longer allow other people—one or two of them—to operate outside of them,” he said during the flag salute ceremony in front of the Palácio da Alvorada, the official residence of the presidency.
The “one or two” he was alluding to are the Minister of the Supreme Federal Court, Alexandre de Moraes, against whom Bolsonaro had already filed an (unsuccessful) motion for impeachment for “having gone beyond constitutional prerogatives,” and the president of the Superior Electoral Tribunal, Luis Roberto Barroso, accused of blocking his offensive—likewise failed—to introduce a mandatory paper trail for voting.
Bolsonaro also railed against Moraes in his speech to his supporters in the Esplanada dos Ministérios, in the center of Brasilia, which had been invaded since the previous day by buses and trucks full of Bolsonaristas, allowed in by the military police despite the blockade protecting the Praça dos Três Poderes.
More:
https://global.ilmanifesto.it/still-losing-in-the-polls-bolsonaro-tries-a-show-of-force/
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