The president of the (Supreme Federal Court), minister, said, without nominally citing the president, that the sanctions announced by the United States are based on a “inaccurate understanding of the facts” that occurred in Brazil. He also said that, unlike in the days of exception regimes, in the country today “no one is chased.”
“The different worldviews in open and democratic societies are part of life and it is good that it is so. But they do not give anyone the right to twist the truth or deny concrete facts that everyone saw and lived,” Barroso countered, in a letter released on Sunday night (13) to counter Trump’s criticisms.
The minister said that the “immediate political response” was up to the executive and Brazilian diplomacy, but it is his duty, as head of the judiciary, to make a “serene reconstitution of the facts” narrated by Trump and to counter the sanctions announced by the US government as a consequence of the judgments made by the Supreme.
The president of the United States announced one because of the judgment of the former president () and the regulation of the Big Techs. Na, he says the trial against Bolsonaro is “an international misfortune.” “It’s a witch hunt that should finish immediately!” He wrote.
In the letter, Barroso lists facts that have occurred since 2019, such as attempts to attack at Brasilia airport, invasion of the Federal Police headquarters and explode the Supreme Court, the false accusations of electoral fraud in the presidential election and camps in front of Army barracks to request the deposition of the elected president.
In addition, it points out that the (Attorney General’s Office) denounced an attempted coup that included plan to murder the President of the Republic, the vice president and a Supreme Minister and that this will be properly tried by the STF, based on the evidence presented in the court proceedings.
“For those who have not lived a dictatorship or do not have it in memory, it is worth remembering: there, yes, there was lack of freedom, torture, forced disappearances, the closure of the congress and persecution of judges. In Brazil today, no one is pursued. Justice is realized, based on evidence and respected the contradictory,” Barroso wrote.
The STF president also said that an “independent and active court” was necessary to avoid collapse of institutions that existed in Eastern European and Latin American countries. “The Supreme Court will judge independently and based on evidence. If there is evidence, the culprits will be held responsible. If not, they will be acquitted,” he said.
The minister also stressed that all media in Brazil circulate freely, without censorship, and that the Supreme has adopted a “moderate solution” when called to decide on concrete cases involving digital platforms.
The decision that platforms should automatically remove content such as child pornography and terrorism, based on algorithms, and exclude posts with other types of crime, through private notification, was, in Barroso’s opinion, less harsh than European regulation and preserves freedom of expression and press.
Read the full letter of Barroso:
In defense of the constitution, democracy and justice
Last July 9, sanctions were announced that would be applied to Brazil by a traditional commercial partner, based on inaccurate understanding of the facts in the country in recent years. It was up to the executive and, particularly, to diplomacy – not to the judiciary – to lead immediate political responses, still in the heat of events. After the initial reaction, I consider my duty, as head of the judiciary, to proceed to the serene reconstitution of the relevant facts of the recent history of Brazil and, above all, the performance of the Supreme Court.
The different worldviews in open and democratic societies are part of life and it is good. But they do not give anyone the right to twist the truth or deny concrete facts that everyone saw and lived. Democracy takes place for conservative, liberal and progressive. Opposition and alternation in power are the essence of the regime. However, ethical life must be lived with values, good faith and the sincere search for the truth. For each one to form his own opinion about what is right, just and legitimate, follows a factual and objective description of reality.
Beginning in 1985, we have 40 years of institutional stability, with successive free and clean elections and fullness of individual freedoms. Only what constitutes a crime has been repressed. It should not be disregarded the importance of this achievement, in a country that has lived, throughout history, successive breaks of constitutional legality, at different times.
These ruptures or attempts to break institutional rupture include, only in the last 90 years: the Communist intent of 1935, the 1937 State coup of Getúlio Vargas in 1945, the preventive countergolpe of Marshal Lott in 1955, the dismissal of João Goulart in 1964, the Institutional Act No. 5 in 1968, the impediment to the possession of Pedro Aleixo and The granting of a new Constitution in 1969, lead years until 1973 and the closure of Congress by Geisel in 1977. We took a long time to overcome the cycles of delay. The preservation of the Democratic Rule of Law has become one of the most precious goods of our generation. But there were few threats.
In recent years, from 2019, we have lived episodes that have included: attempted terrorist attack on the Brasilia airport; attempted invasion of the headquarters of the Federal Police; attempted bomb explosion at the Supreme Court (STF); false accusations of electoral fraud in the presidential election; Change of report of the Armed Forces that had concluded by the absence of any type of fraud in the electronic ballot box; Threats to the life and physical integrity of STF ministers, including impeachment request; Camps of thousands of people in quarter doors asking for the deposition of the president -elect. And, according to the complaint of the Attorney General, an attempted coup that included plan to murder the President of the Republic, the deputy and a Supreme Minister.
It was necessary an independent and active court to avoid collapse of institutions, as occurred in various countries of the world, from Eastern Europe to Latin America. The ongoing criminal actions, for various crimes against the Democratic Rule of Law, strictly observe due process of law, with absolute transparency in all phases of the judgment. Public sessions, broadcast on television, accompanied by lawyers, the press and society.
The trial is still underway. The complaint of the Attorney’s Office was accepted, as usual in criminal proceedings at any instance, based on serious evidence of crime. Experienced and qualified lawyers offered the contradictory. There are confessions, audios, videos, texts and other elements in the file. The Supreme Court will judge independently and based on evidence. If there is evidence, the culprits will be held responsible. If not, they will be acquitted. Thus the Democratic Rule of Law works.
For those who have not lived a dictatorship or do not have it in memory, it is worth remembering: there, yes, there was a lack of freedom, torture, forced disappearances, the closure of the congress and persecution of judges. In Brazil today, no one is chased. Justice is carried out, based on evidence and respected the contradictory. Like all powers, in an open and democratic society, the judiciary is subject to divergences and criticism. That manifest themselves all the time without any degree of repression. Alongside other institutions, such as the National Congress and the Executive Branch, the Federal Supreme Court has successfully performed the three major roles that fit it: to ensure the government of the majority, to preserve the democratic rule of law and protect fundamental rights.
Finally, it should be noted that all media, physical and virtual, circulate freely without any form of censorship. The Supreme Court has firmly protected the right to free expression: among other decisions, the former Press Law, issued in the Military Regime (ADPF 130), declared the electoral norms that restricted mood and criticism of political agents during the elections (ADI 4.1451), as well as those prohibiting unauthorized biographies (ADI 4815). More recently, it has ensured special protection to journalists against attempts at harassment by court (ADI 6792).
Called to decide concrete cases involving digital platforms, the Supreme Court has produced moderate, less rigorous solution than European regulation, preserving freedom of expression, press freedom, freedom of business and constitutional values. Escaping from the extremes, we gave one of the most advanced treatments in the world to the theme: Contents conveying crimes in general must be removed by private notification; Certain content involving serious crimes such as child pornography and terrorism should be avoided by the algorithms themselves; And everything else will depend on a court order, including in the case of crimes against honor.
It is in difficult times that we must cling to the values and principles that unite us: sovereignty, democracy, freedom and justice. Like the other institutions in the country, the judiciary is with those who work in favor of Brazil and is here to defend it.
