Chief justice of Supreme Court responds to Trump’s letter
In a letter published Sunday evening (Jul. 13), Justice Luís Roberto Barroso, head of Brazil’s Supreme Court, says that the 50-percent tariff imposed by US President Donald Trump on Brazil was based on an “inaccurate understanding of the facts” and that “in today’s Brazil, no one is being persecuted.”
In a letter sent to Brazilian President Luís Inácio Lula da Silva last week, Trump justified the tariff surge by citing former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is facing trial at the Supreme Court on charges of attempting a coup d’état. The US leader also mentioned Supreme Court orders issued against supporters of the onetime Brazilian president who reside in the US as well as decisions affecting US technology companies.
Justice Barroso says he considers it his duty to provide “a factual and objective description of reality.” He gives an overview of various attempted coups throughout Brazilian history and lists facts occurred since 2019 that indicated a new threat to democracy.
“Starting in 2019, we have experienced episodes including an attempted terrorist bomb attack at Brasília airport; an attempted invasion of the Federal Police headquarters; an attempted bomb explosion at the Federal Supreme Court; false accusations of electoral fraud in the presidential election; a change to a report by the Armed Forces that had concluded there was no fraud whatsoever in the voting machines; threats to the life and physical integrity of Supreme Court justices, including a request for impeachment; and the encampment of thousands of people outside barracks calling for the deposition of the elected president,” Justice Barroso listed.
A complaint by Brazil’s prosecutor-general, he goes on to note, reports that the new attempted coup, said to have been spearheaded by Bolsonaro, also encompassed a plan to assassinate President Lula, vice-President Geraldo Alckmin, and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.
“The criminal proceedings underway for various crimes against the democratic rule of law strictly observe the due process of law, with absolute transparency at all stages of the trial. These are public sessions broadcast on television, followed by lawyers, the press and society,” he wrote.
The leader of Brazil’s top court also denied there is censorship in the country and said that the court’s decisions seek to protect freedom of expression. He mentioned the most recent decision on the liability of social networks over illegal publications made by users, stating that “the Supreme Court produced a moderate solution, less strict than European regulation, preserving freedom of expression, freedom of the press, freedom of enterprise, and constitutional values.”
