Senator Flávio Bolsonaro has made Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes the central target of his family's campaign in Brazil's presidential election, framing the vote as a choice about the judge who sentenced his father to prison, as a scandal engulfing the top court threatens to return the Bolsonaros to power.
Speaking to a crowd of thousands of far-right supporters in São Paulo on 7 September, Brazil's Independence Day, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro aimed his strongest attack not at his opponent, the leftist president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, but at a man who is not running at all: Alexandre de Moraes.
"Whoever votes for Lula is voting for Alexandre de Moraes," Bolsonaro shouted, referring to the shaven-headed supreme court justice once described as "Voldemort" by Elon Musk.
Although Lula did not appoint Moraes to the court, Bolsonaro's supporters have linked the two men since the judge oversaw the case in which the senator's father, former president Jair Bolsonaro, was sentenced to 27 years in prison for attempting a coup.
The Guardian's reporting indicates a scandal now engulfing Brazil's top court could be harnessed by the Bolsonaro family in its bid to return to power. The full scope of the scandal has not yet been detailed in public reporting.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The future of the Brazilian presidency is at stake in an election where the top court, not just the candidates, has become the battleground.
- A Bolsonaro return would follow the sentencing of the former president over an attempted coup, testing the durability of Brazil's democratic institutions.
- How the court scandal is handled could shape public trust in the judiciary for years.
Background
Brazil's presidential election pits President Lula da Silva against the Bolsonaro political family. Justice Alexandre de Moraes became a polarising figure when he oversaw the case that convicted former president Jair Bolsonaro, sentencing him to 27 years in prison for attempting a coup. Moraes has also drawn international attention, including from Elon Musk, who once described him as "Voldemort". The current contest has now become entangled with a scandal at the top court, which the Bolsonaro camp sees as a chance to reframe the vote.
Key Perspectives
The Bolsonaro camp: Sees Justice Moraes as the true power behind Lula, and campaigns on the claim that a vote for Lula is a vote for the judge. The court scandal gives the family an opening to present itself as the victim of judicial overreach.
Lula and his supporters: The president did not appoint Moraes to the court, and the Bolsonaro camp's linkage of the two is disputed. Lula's side is likely to defend the judiciary's independence.
Critics and sceptics: Using a court scandal to campaign against the judiciary risks undermining confidence in democratic institutions, particularly coming from a family whose patriarch was convicted over a coup attempt.
What to Watch
- The progress and disclosure of the scandal engulfing Brazil's top court.
- Whether Justice Moraes and the court respond publicly to the campaign attacks.
- The direction of the presidential race in the final weeks before the vote.