After criticizing Brazil’s Supreme Court, Jair Bolsonaro assured that he respects institutions

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – After a string of days of high tension in Brazil due to clashes between President Jair Bolsonaro and the president of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Luiz Fux, the President assured that he never wanted to attack the branches of the government and affirmed that he respects the institutions.

In a statement in which he listed ten points, Bolsonaro stressed, “At a time when the country is divided between institutions, it is my duty as President of the Republic to say publicly: I have never intended to attack any of the powers. The harmony between them is a constitutional provision that all, without exception, must respect.”

“I know that a good part of these differences arises from conflicts of understanding over the decisions adopted by Justice Alexandre de Moraes in the fake news investigation,” highlighted the president, who also said: “But in public life, people who exercise power do not have the right to “stretch the rope” to the point of harming the lives of Brazilians and their economy.”

In this sense, he said that “my words, sometimes forceful, were the fruit of the heat of the moment and of confrontations that always aimed at the common good.”

“Despite his qualities as a jurist and professor, there are natural disagreements in some decisions of Justice Alexandre de Moraes. Therefore, these issues must be resolved by judicial measures to be adopted to ensure the observance of the fundamental rights and guarantees provided for in Article 5 of the Federal Constitution,” the president explained.

Meanwhile, he highlighted his “respect for the institutions of the Republic, the driving forces that help govern the country. Democracy is this: Executive, Legislative and Judiciary working together in favor of the people and all respecting the Constitution.”

“I have always been willing to maintain a permanent dialogue with the other branches to maintain harmony and independence among them. Finally, I want to put on record and thank the extraordinary support of the Brazilian people, with whom I align my principles and values, and guide the destiny of our Brazil,” he concluded.

The letter came after two tension-packed events this week. He continued to criticize Brazil’s Supreme Court for opposing his proposal to change the electoral system just over a year before the 2022 elections. He is likely to run against former President Lula da Silva.

Following Bolsonaro’s speeches on September 7, STF President Fux said that disobedience to the court’s decisions was a “crime.” In turn, Arthur Lira, who is president of the lower house of Congress, called on the president to stop his attacks on democratic institutions.

This Thursday, the highest authority of the Brazilian Supreme Electoral Court (TSE), Luís Roberto Barroso, responded and assured that they protect the country from “ridicule and worldwide contempt.”

“We are victims of mockery and worldwide contempt. A greater discredit than inflation, unemployment, the fall in income, the rise of the dollar, the fall of the stock market, the deforestation of the Amazon, the death toll from the pandemic, than the brain drain and the flight of investors,” Barroso said.

“Democracy is living a delicate moment,” Barroso warned in response to every one of the attacks that on Tuesday Bolsonaro dedicated to the authorities of the Supreme Court and the electronic voting system, during the massive march in Brazil in his support, which was considered anti-democratic and a coup by the opposition.

In his opening remarks during the TSE’s last session, Barroso criticized Bolsonaro’s “rudeness” and “lack of composure” for “embarrassing” him before the international community. Brazil’s “brand” is currently suffering a global devaluation,” he said.

“The lack of composure lowers us before ourselves. We cannot allow the destruction of institutions to cover up the economic, social, and moral failure in which we live,” he has asserted.

Barroso cited the examples of other countries, such as Hungary, Poland, Turkey, Venezuela, or El Salvador, to exemplify “the erosion of democracy” that Brazil is suffering, where “subversion” is not produced by a coup of States, but “by the hands of elected presidents”.

Bolsonaro led two mobilizations this Tuesday in Brasilia and São Paulo. He assured his supporters he would never again abide by a Supreme Court decision made by Justice Alexandre de Moraes a “scoundrel” and “oppressor,” threatening to shut down Congress and attacking the electronic voting system.