— Thousands of supporters of former Brazilian President flooded main boulevard for an Independence Day rally Saturday, buoyed by the government’s blocking of tech billionaire X platform, a ban they say is proof of their political persecution. A few thousand demonstrators, clad in the yellow-and-green colors of flag, poured onto Av. Paulista.
References to the ban on X and images of Musk abounded. “Thank you for defending our freedom,” read one banner praising the tech entrepreneur. Saturday’s march was seen as a test of Bolsonaro’s capacity to mobilize turnout ahead of the October municipal elections, even though electoral court has barred him from running for office until 2030.
It’s also something of a referendum on X, whose suspension has raised eyebrows even among some of opponents all the while stoking the flames of deep-seated political polarization. Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered X’s nationwide ban on Aug. 30 after months of feuding with Musk over the limits of free speech.
The powerful judge has spearheaded efforts to ban far-right users from spreading misinformation on social media, and he ramped up his clampdown after die-hard supporters ransacked Congress and the presidential palace on Jan. 8, 2023, in an attempt to overturn defeat in the presidential election. On Saturday, called Moraes a “dictator” and called on Senate to impeach the judge.
He also repeated the false claim that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had collud.