‘Minute of the coup’, Musk and Moraes: what to expect from the speeches at the pro-Bolsonaro event this Sunday | Rio de Janeiro

As progress of Federal Police (PF) investigations into an attempted coup d’étatthe former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) called for a new demonstration for this Sunday, 21st, at Copacabana Beach, in Rio. As in the previous edition, in São Paulo, the event seeks to bring together thousands of supporters for a demonstration of popular support for the former president, who is suspected of involvement in the coup plot that culminated in the attacks of January 8th.

O act on Avenida Paulista, in February, was marked by a request for amnesty from Bolsonaro for those arrested on the 8th of January and by the large presence of Israeli flags after President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) compared Israeli military actions to the Holocaust. This time, the demonstration is driven by the campaign disseminated by billionaire Elon Musk against the Federal Supreme Court (STF), the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) and Minister Alexandre de Moraes.

Pastor Silas Malafaia, who participates in organizing the event, makes no secret of the fact that this Sunday’s movement intends to capitalize on the discussion created by Musk, who accuses Moraes of promoting censorship on social media. In 2022, the billionaire bought Twitter (now X) for US$44 billion. Since then, the platform has not only changed its name, but also changed its terms of use, making the work of Brazilian Justice more difficult.

For Musk and Bolsonaro’s allies, the Moraes’ decisions in the context of the digital militia investigation have trampled on the principles of due legal process, restricting freedom of expression through the removal of profiles on social networks. For an expert heard by Estadão, the Supreme Court minister crossed the limit in the name of democracy and because he thought networks were a risk.

“(Let’s echo) what Elon Musk denounced and which, with all due respect, I’ve been doing for two years, including calling (minister) Alexandre de Moraes a ‘dictator in the toga'”, said Malafaia, this Saturday, 20 , about the speeches of the act. He added that the draft of the coup, a document found by the PF which, in short, provided for an intervention in the Judiciary to prevent President Lula from taking office, will also be the topic of the event.

Police investigations indicate that Bolsonaro was not only aware of the draft, but also gave suggestions for the final wording of the coup-based decree. The Bolsonarists’ strategy is to say that the coup draft is the “biggest fake news in the history of Brazil”. “We are going to destroy this nonsense,” said the pastor about the police notes

In the February act, Bolsonaro sought to minimize the existence of the document. “A coup is a tank in the street, it’s a weapon, it’s a conspiracy. None of this was done in Brazil. Why do they continue to accuse me of a coup? Because there is a draft state of defense decree. A coup using the Constitution? I make it clear that a state of siege It starts with the president convening the Republic’s council. Was this done?

This Sunday’s Bolsonarist demonstration is scheduled to start at 10 am. In total, the presence of 60 parliamentarians and at least three governors is expected, including the head of the São Paulo Executive, Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans). The forecast is that a maximum of ten people will speak, including Jair and Michelle Bolsonaro, Malafaia and congressmen Magno Malta, Nikolas Ferreira and Gustavo Gayer.

Former First Lady Michelle, who in São Paulo spoke to the public for 15 minutes, is expected to repeat the speech and the religious tone of the statements, alongside her husband. In a video published last Friday, 12th, on her Instagram profile, Michelle invited them to the event in Rio saying that they will “show the world” that they are “positioned in God”.

Between the politicians who have already confirmed their presence are federal deputies Alexandre Ramagem (PL-RJ), Sóstenes Cavalcante (PL-RJ), Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG), Gustavo Gayer (PL-GO) and Marco Feliciano (PL-SP).