Moraes turns act about 8/1 into campaign for network regulation

Minister Alexandre de Moraes used most of his speech condemning the attacks on the headquarters of Power, on January 8 last year, to emphatically defend greater regulation of social networks. He spoke alongside President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and several authorities at the Democracia Unabalada event, organized by the government, the Federal Supreme Court and Congress on Monday afternoon (8). Lula, on the other hand, defended that participants in last year’s demonstrations receive exemplary punishment.

Since assuming the presidency of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) in 2022, Moraes has been one of the biggest defenders of stricter rules to force platforms to remove, on their own initiative, content that he considers “attacking” institutions and the Judiciary, which have multiplied in recent years.

Last year, the main bill on the subject did not advance in the Chamber due to fear on the part of society and technology companies of expanding censorship – already practiced by the STF and TSE in suspending the profiles of parliamentarians and citizens, mostly critics of the courts and largely supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro.

With his speech this Monday (8) in Congress, in memory of the invasions and “defense of democracy”, Moraes confirms the renewed effort to approve the proposal, also in the government’s interest. Advisors to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva assess that social networks have become a territory dominated by the right in political debate.

The pretext of the Executive and the Judiciary in favor of regulation is to contain “hate speech”, “misinformation”, “fraudulent news” or “fake news”, vague terms that, in practice, tend to encompass expressions of indignation and harsh criticism of Lula, the left in general and the STF in particular. All of this, according to several STF and government ministers, contributed to the acts of January 8 and would represent a threat to democracy.

In his speech, Moraes said that there will be no impunity for those responsible for the attacks and, shortly afterwards, he began to defend stricter regulation of platforms – which, in his opinion, allowed the free dissemination of content that he considers undemocratic.

“Today is also the time to look to the future and reaffirm the urgent need to neutralize one of the great modern dangers to democracy: the instrumentalization of social networks by the new extremist digital populism”, he stated.

“There is a need to issue modern regulations, as has been discussed in the democratic world and has already been carried out, for example, in the European Union and Canada. Recent innovations in information technology and universal access to social networks, with the growth of platforms (big techs), amplified in particular with the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), enhanced premeditated and fraudulent disinformation with the amplification of hateful and anti-democratic speeches”, he then added.

In his speech this Monday, Moraes also spoke of “concern about the stealth capture of the will of the electorate”, which according to him, “is a current problem discussed by all democracies”. He said that the “new extremist digital populism has evolved into the use of methods used by the Nazi and fascist regimes”.

The “extremist digital populists, enemies of democracy”, he added, “have instrumentalized social networks”, and these, “seeking profit, have done nothing to stop it”. He concluded by declaring that “this new reality requires the immediate regulation and control of disinformation, not only in defense of Democracy, but also in protection of the dignity of the human person”.

Lula calls Bolsonaro a “coup ex-president”

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) began his speech at the event in reference to 8/1, stating that it is necessary to respect divergent opinions so that Brazilians can live in peace. But, in the same speech, he called the acts of vandalism on January 8, 2023 a frustrated coup attempt that would have been plotted by supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL). Furthermore, the PT member referred to Bolsonaro as a “former coup president” and even accused his main opponent in the 2022 elections of alluding to violence during the presidential campaign.

“If the coup attempt had been successful, […] political opponents and constituted authorities could be shot or hanged in a public square, judging by what the former coup president preached in the campaign and his followers plotted on social media,” said Lula in his speech.

The act is marked by the defense of the “maximum rigor of the law against protesters”

Lula defended that all those who planned, financed and carried out the acts of January 8, 2023 be “exemplarily punished”. “There is no forgiveness for those who attack democracy, their country and their own people. A pardon would sound like impunity or safe conduct for new terrorist acts in our country. We save democracy”, stated the President of the Republic.

The president also praised the performance of the legislative police of the Chamber and the Senate, who, according to him, “refused to admit the coup and risked their lives in the performance of their duty”.

President of the Republic also defends regulation of social networks

Lula, as well as the president of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), minister Alexandre de Moraes, defended the regulation of social networks. “Our democracy will be under constant threat until we are firm in regulating social networks,” said the president.

Furthermore, Lula criticized politicians who question the security of the electronic voting machine. Without mentioning former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) by name, the PT member said that “people who doubt the elections and the legality of the Brazilian ballot box, because they lost the elections, why don’t they ask their party to resign with all deputies and senators who were elected? His three sons were elected, why don’t they resign in protest against the fraudulent ballot box?”, he asked.

Government planned to politically capitalize on 1 year anniversary of 8/1

After months of preparation, the federal government promoted, on the afternoon of this Monday (8), the act called “Unshakable Democracy”. The ceremony, organized jointly with the Federal Supreme Court (STF) and the presidency of the National Congress, took place in the Black Room of Congress.

The event in memory of the “anniversary” of the acts of vandalism to the Três Poderes buildings, in Brasília, included a great marketing effort, including institutional videos, videos with artists, interviews with members of the top government leadership in Brazilian newspapers and international events and an extensive preparation agenda that marked the days leading up to the event.

With a view to promoting the image especially of the federal government and the STF as the great protagonists of the “defense of democracy” – under the allegation that on January 8, 2023 there would have been a coup attempt fought mainly by these institutions; argument that is refuted by jurists – Lula even asked all government ministers to pause their vacations to attend the event.

The event, which began shortly after 3pm and lasted until around 4pm, was attended by authorities and a series of allies of President Lula (PT). In addition to him, among the authorities present were the vice-president of the Republic, Geraldo Alckmin (PSB); the presidents of the STF, Luis Roberto Barroso, of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco, and of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), Alexandre de Moraes; the Attorney General of the Republic, Paulo Gonet, and some governors – most of them Lula supporters. All congressmen were invited, but most parliamentarians opposing the Lula government denied the invitation. Among those in government, the presence was massive.

The Minister of Defense, José Múcio, attended taking the commanders of the Army, General Tomás Paiva, of the Navy, Admiral Marcos Olsen, and of the Air Force, Brigadier Marcelo Damasceno. They entered and left without speaking to the press.

Also present at the event were former STF minister Rosa Weber, who presided over the Court at the time of the protests in Brasília, former ministers Ricardo Lewandowski, who is tipped to take over as minister in the Lula government, and Carlos Ayres Britto; ministers and executive secretaries of the Lula government and presidents of state-owned companies.

Representatives of civil society organizations allied with Lula were also present. One of these representatives is Aline Sousa. A member of the Waste Pickers Movement of the Federal District, she was the one who handed the presidential sash to Lula during his inauguration in 2023.

President of the Chamber and opposition governors fail to act by the government

The president of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), did not attend the event organized by the government and the STF, citing personal reasons. In a message sent to journalists early in the morning, Lira stated that he was unable to attend the event due to family health reasons in Alagoas, his political base.

The absence comes at a time of heightened tension between the Executive and Legislative branches. President Lula used provisional measures at the beginning of the year to annul December’s Congressional decisions on payroll tax relief for 17 sectors and on establishing a calendar for the payment of parliamentary amendments. The absence was felt by many and it was even considered whether Lira would not have attended due to the recent crisis between the Executive and Legislative branches.

The government leader in the Senate, Jacques Wagner (PT-BA), said that the president of the Chamber called Lula to inform him that he would not be able to attend the event that marks one year since the January 8th events due to illness.

Also not present were the governors of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans), from Paraná, Carlos Massa Ratinho Junior (PSD), Cláudio Castro (PL), from Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Riedel (PSDB), from Mato Grosso do Sul; Ronaldo Caiado (União) from Goiás; Mauro Mendes (União), from Mato Grosso; Gladson Cameli (PP), from Acre; Ibaneis Rocha (MDB), from the Federal District; and Romeu Zema (Novo), from Minas Gerais. See the full list.

Zema even stated that he would go to the event, but later canceled his presence after receiving pressure from his party leaders.

The government leader in the Senate, Randolfe Rodrigues, lamented the absence of authorities in the Unshakable Democracy act. “To miss an event like this is to insist on the 8/1 attack”, he said. Regarding the absence of the president of the Chamber, Arthur Lira, Randolfe said that he does not fit into this context, and that “Arthur Lira’s demonstrations were clear in defense of democracy, the deputy recognized the results of the elections, and repudiated the 8/1”.

The interim Minister of Justice, Ricardo Capelli, stated that there were no demonstrations or acts in Brasília. More than two thousand police officers were mobilized to provide security for the event in the Esplanada dos Ministérios region.