A Supreme Court Coup D'Etat in Brazil

https://www.wsj.com/opinion/a-supreme-court-coup-detat-in-brazil-politics-policy-americas-trial-385246c8

by matheusmoreira • 12 months ago

6 12 12 months ago

A Supreme Court Coup d’Etat in Brazil
Justice de Moraes is censoring critics and jailing opponents with no political check.

Many others and myself have been saying it for years... Now people are finally noticing.

voxleone• 12 months ago

Brazil is functioning under a state of democratic normality and the rule of law. The Supreme Court is addressing legal gaps resulting from legislative inaction by Congress.

armchairhacker• 12 months ago

First it launched the “fake news inquiry,” making itself the initiator, investigator and judge. This was a violation of the constitutional rights of Brazilians, who are entitled to have their criminal cases tried in local and state courts, with charges brought by local and state prosecutors.
In July 2021 they launched a “digital militia inquiry,” targeting tech companies and their platforms. It forced them to censor content and demonetize Brazilians who held opinions that the court found unacceptable. Failure to comply meant the companies could no longer operate in Brazil.
The justice made the tribunal notably more political than it had been by actively monitoring the speech of parties, candidates and citizens and censoring those with whom he disagreed.
Around 1,500 suspects were rounded up and some kept in prison for up to a year awaiting trial. Some were hit with severe sentences for minor transgressions.

Regulating speech, suppressing peaceful dissent, and ignoring the right to due process and a fair trial is immoral, everywhere.

Herring4• 12 months ago

Agreed with due process, but look at how Germany treats Nazis. Speech and expression related to Nazism is heavily regulated and subjects you to imprisonment. Demonstrations/rallies are often banned. The Nazi party itself is banned. AfD is being monitored by intelligence agencies and might be banned in the future, etc. They do this defensively when groups demonstrate an "actively belligerent, aggressive stance" towards the democratic order. But yes, it would be better if all this in Brazil was formalized like in Germany.

matheusmoreira6• 12 months ago

The Supreme Court is addressing legal gaps resulting from legislative inaction by Congress.

You just admitted it yourself. The unelected supreme court is legislating.

They have usurped the functions of the legislative branch. They do not represent us: not a single brazilian citizen voted for these judges. Yet everything they write is law. Worse: they frequently nullify the efforts of our actual representatives in a completely monocratic manner.

They often engage in "judicial activism" where they "creatively interpret" laws and generally make things up on the spot. Not too long ago they regulated social media by arbitrarily declaring the existing law unconstitutional and somehow reinterpreting it to mean the exact opposite of what the law said. They privatized their censorship by making social media companies liable for user content. Now the companies have to proactively censor everything the courts might take issue with, lest they get slapped with totally arbitrary fines and nationwide ISP blocks.

They've usurped the functions of the executive branch too. Not too long ago they raised taxes on all brazilians. Our president raised taxes, our congress blocked it, then the supreme court overrode our elected congress. The president is ruling through the court, just like in Venezuela.

They're also the victims, investigators, prosecutors, judges and executioners...

The only possible logical conclusion is that Brazil is not a democracy, it's a dictatorship of the unelected judiciary. They are judge-god-kings.

A Supreme Court Coup D'Etat in Brazil

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