RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazil’s highly unpopular Supreme Court (STF) reported Monday that it decided to acquire a batch of “non-lethal weapons” in order to prevent “violent actions and threats” that some of its members have received from groups sympathetic to the government.
Even more than ever before, the Supreme Court has usurped the real power of government in Brazil after the election of Jair Bolsonaro, which is a thorn in the side of many citizens.
The anger among Bolsonaro voters is therefore great, as they elected the conservative president precisely to change things in the country.
The STF, however, acts undisturbed as a placeholder for the left-wing government that was voted out of office and disrupts the right-wing government’s affairs of state whenever and wherever it can.
“The acquisition of non-lethal technologies by the Supreme Court aims to allow the (internal) security team to guarantee the right to the free manifestation of thought, preserving lives and the public patrimony,” the court said in an official note.
In recent months, the threats became personalized and several of the court’s magistrates received messages warning of possible attempts on their lives.
In these threats, the motive was always linked to various decisions of the Supreme Court that were contrary to the Brazilian president’s policies, especially on issues such as the measures needed to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.
The STF has ensured that Covid measures can be determined by state governors themselves, disempowering state government on this key issue.
Only 23% of Brazilians think the Supreme Court’s (STF) work is excellent or good and 34% think it is terrible.
The data was collected between December 13 and December 16 through a face-to-face survey by Datafolha of 3,666 people 16 and older in 191 cities.
The negative impression is even more pronounced among voters who plan to vote for Jair Bolsonaro (PL) next year.
Looking only at this group, only one in ten respondents (12%) approve of the Supreme Court’s work, while 57% disapprove.