Bolsonaro rally draws tens of thousands
Brazilian president calls on supporters to protest against top court, justice
BRASILIA, BRAZIL—Tens of thousands of supporters of embattled right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro heeded his call and turned out at rallies Tuesday as he stepped up his attacks on Brazil’s Supreme Court and threatened to plunge the country into a constitutional crisis.
Bolsonaro has been locked in a feud with the high court, in particular a justice who has jailed several of the president’s supporters for allegedly financing, organizing or inciting violence or anti-democratic acts, or disseminating false information.
In calling on his followers to take to the streets on Brazil’s Independence Day in protest, Bolsonaro stirred fears among his foes that the demonstrations could erupt in violence akin to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former president Donald Trump. But by late afternoon, there were no reports of any serious violence.
Bolsonaro got a rousing reception from demonstrators in the capital, Brasilia, and in Sao Paulo, as he lit into the Supreme Court and Justice Alexandre de Moraes for making what he characterized as political arrests.
He declared he will no longer abide by rulings from de Moraes, who will assume the presidency of the nation’s electoral tribunal next year, when Bolsonaro will seek reelection.
“Any decision from Mr. Alexandre de Moraes, this president will no longer comply with. The patience of our people has run out,” Bolsonaro said. “For us, he no longer exists.”
He also told the cheering crowd in Sao Paulo: “I want to tell those who want to make me unelectable in Brazil: Only God removes me from there.”
“There are three options for me: be jailed, killed or victorious. I’m letting the scoundrels know: I’ll never be imprisoned!” he declared.
Political analyst Thomas Traumann said Bolsonaro “crossed the Rubicon” on Tuesday.
“He escalated the crisis. You can’t have a president who says, ‘I won’t accept rule of law,’ or says, ‘I will only accept the laws I like.’ That’s not a democracy,” Traumann said.