Brazil hardliner judge in feud with Elon Musk
his stern gaze and shiny bald head, Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes has emerged as one of the most powerful and polarising people in Brazil by probing far-right expresident Jair Bolsonaro’s alleged attacks on democracy.
Now he has a new target in his disinformation crackdown: Elon Musk.
The billionaire X owner, who calls himself a “free-speech absolutist”, recently went on the attack against Moraes, labelling him a dictator and threatening to defy the judge’s rulings blocking users found to be spreading disinformation — largely Bolsonaro supporters.
Moraes responded by ordering fines of US$20,000 a day for any account that X reactivates, putting Musk under investigation for charges, including obstruction of justice, and accusing him of a “criminal instrumentalisation” of the social network formerly called Twitter.
Known by his nickname, Xandao, Moraes, 55, looms large over the fissures of a deeply divided Brazil.
The immensely powerful judge, who also heads the Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE), is hated by the far right, which accuses him of censorship and abuse of office.
To others, he is a hero using the bench to save Brazil’s young democracy.
The constitutional law expert worked as a Sao Paulo state prosecutor, then went on to become state security secretary. Known as a hardliner, he drew criticism from left-wing activists, who accused him of repressing social movements.
He served as justice minister under centre-right ex-president Michel Temer, who named him to the Supreme Court in 2017.
“Legal expertise has played a part in his meteoric rise, but what put him on the Supreme Court, and 99 per cent of his career, is politics. He’s a political animal,” constitutional law expert Antonio Carlos de Freitas said.
Despite his severe demeanour, Moraes is known for a sense of humour behind the scenes.
Supreme Court insiders call him a pragmatist with a gift for engaging in dialogue with various players, including the military.
But he soon found himself on a collision course with Bolsonaro.
During Bolsonaro’s administration (2019 to 2022), Moraes ordered investigations of several of the president’s allies. Bolsonaro called him “scum” and vowed to stop following his rulings.
Moraes has presided over a slew of cases targeting the politician dubbed the Tropical Trump, who has been barred from running for office until 2030 over his attempts to discredit the electoral system — a decision delivered by the TSE, the electoral court Moraes heads.
Moraes’s docket includes what may be the most damaging case against Bolsonaro: the investigation into charges the ex-president and his inner circle plotted a coup to stay in power despite losing the 2022 elections to veteran leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
“Bolsonaro’s camp has found a favourite enemy in Moraes, who has dealt them their biggest defeats at the Supreme Court and blocked the spread of fake news,” Freitas said.
Police investigating Bolsonaro’s alleged coup plot say it included a presidential decree that would have declared a state of emergency, called new elections and ordered Moraes’ arrest.
Moraes was an omnipresent figure during the polarising 2022 campaign, aggressively using his rulings to fight election disinformation on social media.
That included blocking some prominent right-wing figures’ accounts — the decisions Tesla and
SpaceX boss Musk is now threatening to disobey.
“Freedom of expression doesn’t mean freedom of aggression,” Moraes has said.
“It doesn’t mean the freedom to defend tyranny.”
Still two decades away from the mandatory retirement age for judges in Brazil — 75 — Moraes has political ambitions, including being president some day, a source close to him said.
Meanwhile, Musk will want to watch out if he challenges Moraes to a cage fight, as he did with fellow tech titan Mark Zuckerberg: Moraes has studied muay thai, or Thai boxing.