Brazil’s chief justice backs move against Musk

Luis Roberto Barroso, Brazil's Supreme Court chief justice. Photo: Antonio Augusto/SCO/STF

Supreme Court Chief Justice Luís Roberto Barroso on Monday issued a public statement with a thinly veiled reference to the decision by Justice Alexandre de Moraes to include billionaire Elon Musk in an ongoing investigation into obstruction of justice, incitement to commit crimes, and the “criminal exploitation” of X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter which Mr. Musk bought in 2022.

The statement does not cite X or Mr. Musk by name.

“Defiance against the prevalence of democracy continues to manifest itself in the criminal exploitation of social networks,” Chief Justice Barroso wrote.

“The Supreme Court has acted and will continue to act in the protection of institutions,” he added. “All companies operating in Brazil are subject to the Constitution, the law, and the decisions of Brazilian authorities.”

The statement adds that “a life-and-death struggle recently took place in Brazil for the Democratic Rule of Law and against a coup d’état”, a reference to the January 8 riots and to the ongoing investigations into a coup led by former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro after he lost re-election in late 2022.

Mr. Bolsonaro has called supporters for a demonstration on April 21 in Rio de Janeiro, and the public struggle between the Supreme Court and Elon Musk has become a major rallying point. Pro-Bolsonaro supporters have long seen Mr. Musk as an ally, and celebrated his decision to buy Twitter.

As The Brazilian Report showed, a group of pro-Bolsonaro lawmakers launched an international campaign to portray Brazil as a dictatorship with no freedom of speech and the investigations against the former president as a political witch hunt. Justice Moraes is a prime target of this mission.