Judge Alexandre de Moraes of the Supreme Court, known for his steely eyes and gleaming bald head, has become one of Brazil’s most powerful and divisive figures as he investigates claims that far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro has attacked democracy.
Elon Musk is the New Target of His Campaign of Deception.
The wealthy X owner, who was born in South Africa and describes himself as a “free-speech absolutist,” recently launched an offensive against Moraes, calling him a tyrant and threatening to overturn the judge’s decisions to ban users who were discovered to be disseminating false information—mostly Bolsonaro supporters.
In response, Moraes placed Musk under investigation for crimes including obstruction of justice and charged him with “criminal instrumentalization” of the social network formerly known as Twitter. He also ordered fines of $20,000 per day for any account that X reactivates.
Known by his stage name “Xandao,” 55-year-old Moraes towers over the rifts in a sharply divided Brazil.
The far right despises the incredibly powerful judge, who also serves as the head of the Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE), accusing him of abusing his position and censoring speech.
Some see him as a hero who is defending Brazil’s fledgling democracy by using the bench.
‘Political Animal’
Nothing in Moraes’s past suggested he would turn into a conservative foe.
After serving as a state prosecutor in Sao Paulo, the constitutional law specialist was appointed state security secretary. He was perceived as a hardliner and was criticized by left-wing activists who said he was suppressing social movements.
Under center-right former president Michel Temer, he was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2017 while serving as his minister of justice.
Although his rapid ascent was aided by his legal knowledge, politics was mostly responsible for his appointment to the Supreme Court and for 99 percent of his career. Antonio Carlos de Freitas, an expert in constitutional law, told AFP that “he’s a political animal.”
Alexandre de Moraes has a sharp sense of humor behind the scenes, despite his serious attitude.
Insiders close to the Supreme Court describe him as a pragmatic who has a talent for conversing with a wide range of stakeholders, including the armed forces.
However, he quickly discovered that he was headed straight for Bolsonaro.
Moraes requested probes on multiple associates of President Bolsonaro from 2019 to 2022. Bolsonaro denounced him as “scum” and swore he would no longer obey his decisions.
The politician known as the “Tropical Trump,” who is prohibited from seeking public office until 2030 for his attempts to undermine the election process, has been the target of numerous cases that Moraes has presided over. The TSE, the electoral court that Moraes leads, made this ruling.
The investigation into allegations that the former president and his inner circle planned a coup to remain in office despite losing the 2022 elections to seasoned leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is one of Moraes’s current cases, which could be the most damaging one against Bolsonaro.
“Moraes, who has handed Bolsonaro’s side their biggest setbacks at the Supreme Court and stopped the circulation of fake news, has become a favorite enemy,” Freitas stated.
According to police looking into Bolsonaro’s purported coup attempt, there was a presidential decree involved that would have imposed emergency measures, scheduled fresh elections, and mandated the detention of Moraes.
Disinformation War
Throughout the divisive 2022 campaign, Moraes was a constant presence, vigorously utilizing his decisions to combat electoral misinformation on social media.
This involved suspending the accounts of several well-known conservatives, a move that Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, is now threatening to rescind.
Moraes has a million followers on his personal X account, “@Alexandre,” although he rarely writes there and rarely does interviews.
He has stated that “freedom of expression does not equate to freedom of aggression.”
“It does not imply the right to support despotism.”
Even though he is still twenty years away from Brazil’s statutory 75-year-old retirement age for judges, Alexandre de Moraes has long-term political goals, one of which is to become president, a close aide to him told AFP.
As for Musk, he should be careful if he dares Moraes to a cage battle, as he did with fellow tech tycoon Mark Zuckerberg. Moraes has studied “muay thai,” or Thai boxing, as some internet wags have been hoping.
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