The Brazilian government condemned “the attempt by anti-democratic forces to use foreign governments to coerce national institutions”
by El Reportero‘s wire services
Relations between the United States and Brazil have deteriorated in recent weeks. Since Aug. 7, when 50 percent tariffs on Brazilian products went into effect—a measure announced a month earlier by US President Donald Trump—bilateral tensions have escalated.
The White House representative justified the tariffs by citing a “very unfair” trade relationship and criticized the Brazilian judicial system for the trial of former President Jair Bolsonaro, accused of participating in an attempted coup.
On Tuesday, the Brazilian government rejected statements by White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt, who stated that Trump “is not afraid” to implement economic sanctions and use military force to “protect freedom of expression around the world.”
“The president is not afraid to use America’s economic and military power to protect freedom of expression around the world,” Leavitt stated. He himself faced censorship upon returning to this beautiful Oval Office here in Washington, D.C. That’s why he takes this very seriously, as, I believe, does the vice president of the United States and the entire Trump administration. That’s why we have taken significant action with respect to Brazil, both through sanctions and through the use of tariffs, to ensure that countries around the world do not punish their citizens in this way,” he added. “They will not be intimidated.”
In response, the Brazilian government condemned the use of economic sanctions or threats of force against its democracy. “The first step in protecting freedom of expression is to defend democracy and respect the popular will expressed at the ballot box. This is the duty of all three branches of government, which will not be intimidated by any attack on our sovereignty,” he stated.
“The Brazilian government repudiates the attempt by anti-democratic forces to use foreign governments to coerce national institutions,” he emphasized. Meanwhile, Supreme Federal Court (STF) Judge Luiz Fux opens the fourth day of the trial against Jair Bolsonaro and seven other defendants in the coup plot this Wednesday. Fux will be the third to cast his vote, following Alexandre de Moraes and Flávio Dino, who voted Tuesday to convict the group identified as the key nucleus of the coup. Carmen Lúcia and Cristiano Zanin are expected to be the next. One more vote would provide the majority needed for a conviction.
Since late August, with the approaching start of Bolsonaro’s trial, the Brazilian government and the STF anticipated an escalation of the political crisis. In response to the tariff increase, Brazil invoked the Reciprocity Law and accelerated economic measures.
“Unwavering in the defense of national sovereignty”
During the opening of the trial, Moraes affirmed that the court will not submit to coercion or obstruction in the exercise of its constitutional mission. “National sovereignty will not be vilified or extorted,” and “the Supreme Court will always be unwavering in defending national sovereignty” and will not bow to internal or external pressure,” he stated.
The Supreme Court has been the target of attacks and sanctions by Trump, who accuses it of conducting a “witch hunt” against Jair Bolsonaro.
In July, Trump announced a 50 percent tariff on Brazilian products, claiming it was a “response to recent policies and practices by the Government of Brazil, which constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.”
Washington also denounced “the political persecution, intimidation, harassment, censorship, and lawsuits filed by the Government of Brazil against former President Jair Bolsonaro and thousands of his supporters,” and named Moraes as responsible for “threatening, persecuting, and intimidating thousands of political opponents.”
On July 30, the United States implemented the so-called Act. Magnitsky v. Moraes. This law, in effect since 2016, allows for unilateral sanctions against foreigners accused of human rights violations or corruption. As a result, Moraes’s assets and interests under US jurisdiction were frozen, which could affect his operations in international banks and services.
– With reports by RT.
