One of the main lines of attack against Jair Bolsonaro, who served as president of Brazil until 2022, was one that we’re all very familiar with at this point. Liberals claimed that Bolsonaro was an “enemy of democracy.” Media outlets — both in the United States and Brazil — claimed that Bolsonaro was an autocrat who wanted to suspend the rule of law and use the force of government to punish his political enemies. This message resonated with Brazilians because some very prominent figures promoted it — including a former prosecutor-turned Supreme Court judge named Alexandre de Moraes. Among the Brazilian Left, de Moraes was something of a hero for taking on Bolsonaro. Most notably, the judge presided over a tribunal that banned Bolsonaro from running for office for 8 years.
Why? Bolsonaro allegedly spread “lies about voting machines,” which supposedly inspired a mob to ransack Congress, the presidential palace and other government buildings. It was basically Brazil’s January 6. So in the name of protecting democracy, the judge prevented people from voting for Bolsonaro for the better part of a decade.
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