The vice-president of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), minister Luiz Edson Fachin spoke about a “wave of authoritarian populism” that would be rising around the world. In the same vein, the minister and president of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) mentioned “a populism that is advancing in terms of disinformation” that would be “contaminating freedoms”.
The speeches took place during an international seminar entitled “The Mercosur Permanent Review Court: relevance and perspectives”, held by the STF this Friday (8).
“Let us pay attention to the present scenario. Freedom and democracy are conditions of possibility for a livable future. A wave of authoritarian populism is rising,” said Fachin, without specifying who he was referring to.
Afterwards, the vice-president of the STF also cited “a new virus” and the need for a “vaccine”. “If a wave of totalitarian populism rises and if a new virus spreads and wants to contaminate justice systems, I believe that a vaccine challenges the tempering of the courts, that is, it fulfills resilience and democratic vigilance,” said the minister. Fachin also said that he intends to promote the defense of the rule of law and the search to “never give up the freedom of democracy”.
Cármen Lúcia cites misinformation among the most important topics for humanity
In her speech, Minister Cármen Lúcia, president of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), listed three themes as the most important today: climate issues, organized transnational crime and disinformation.
For her, the world faces democratic risks even in the face of a series of elections that should preserve democracy.
“We have never had so many elections in the world, but with so many concerns about democracy, it seemed, at first, like a contradiction, but it is not. What we have is a world with many elections, but with effective democratic risks due to demagogic populism and, mainly, a populism that advances in terms of disinformation, contaminating freedoms”, said the minister.
