Good morning! This week, we talk about how the framing of the freedom of speech debate may be off in Brazil. The legal dangers for those who incited the Brasília riots of January 8. And Brazil’s storage deficit.
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The debate around freedom of speech in Brazil
If federal authorities have tried to respond swiftly to the January 8 Brasília riots, few have done so as firmly as Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. Since hordes of far-right radicals stormed and ransacked the buildings headquartering all branches of government, he has suspended the Brasília governor from office, ordered the arrest of Brazil’s former justice minister, and placed former President Jair Bolsonaro under investigation.
- Recently, Justice Moraes also ordered the social media accounts of high-profile far-right agitators — including one congressman-elect — to be blocked.
State of play. For large chunks of the Brazilian electorate, the severity of the January 8 riots legitimized Justice Moraes’s tough approach. However, he has ignited a debate about whether he is going too far.
The case against Moraes....