The reality that surpasses fiction

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(This is an English version of the text originally published by Gazeta do Povo on Thursday, August 8th 2024)

It’s hard to imagine a more unreal nearly fictional situation for a country: the richest man in the world confronts a minister of the Brazilian Supreme Court in mind-blowing escalation for everyone to see. On the one hand, a “unbridled capitalist”, a serial entrepreneur who possesses, in addition to his wealth, an enviable ideological libertarian clarity and an unbreakable commitment to the defense of freedoms, particularly that of expression. On the other, a career bureaucrat, nominated and approved by politicians for the post on the country’s highest court, and whose main guarantee for him staying in power is a kleptocratic system and a left-wing Marxist anti-liberal government.

Leaving aside the practical effects of this epic battle, which have increasingly affected Brazilians’ daily lives, such as the imminent X bring down in the country, the ongoing plot seems to be a matter of fiction. Ayn Rand, the Russian-American writer who published the unmissable classic book “Atlas Shrugged”, would watch in amazement at the Tupiniquim version of her dystopian novel.

May the examples of Elon Musk and Starlink represent the true will of the Brazilian people and echo in the leaden authorities: no more abuse, no more tyranny!

The most recent and exciting battle between the good guy and the bad guy, between the defender of freedom and the authoritarian tyrant, was the imposition of heavy fines on Elon Musk’s company and the threat of imprisonment of his lawyer if he didn’t comply with the illegal and abusive orders of Alexandre de Moraes. The refusal to collaborate with the dictator led Musk to fire all of X’s employees in Brazil and close down the company's activities all over the country.

As he has done repeatedly, the bold decided to double down. He “subpoenaed” Elon Musk by posting on X itself, on the evening of Wednesday, August 28, a warrant in which he promises to take down the entire platform in Brazil in twenty-four hours if Musk insists on not collaborating – which, by the way, other Big Techs such as Google and Meta have shamefully done. Remark: Musk is not even the legal representative of the company whose CEO is Linda Yaccarino.

The corroboration that Moraes has the support of Brazil's kleptocratic system is the post made to summon Musk came from the Supreme Court's own X account. In other words: the institution supports this arbitrariness, it is corrupted by tyranny. As if the insolent subpoena wasn’t enough, on Thursday the company Starlink, founded by Musk but publicly traded, revealed that it had all its assets blocked by Alexandre de Moraes to guarantee the payment of fines imposed on X – all of which, by the way, were decided without due process and any kind of chance for the platform to defend itself.

With courage and integrity, the Starlink company has sent a statement to all its users in Brazil informing them of the situation and confronting the Supreme Court’s decision not only in the case that directly affects them, but also calling unconstitutional the decisions imposed on X. Ah, if only all Brazilian companies and entrepreneurs would start to revolt against this state of affairs and unite against this shameful and tyrannical Brazilian bureaucratic establishment!

This is, in fact, what we are about to see happen in the country. The institutional rupture took place a long time ago, starting with the Supreme Court and the bureaucratic establishment. The people on the streets are the last hope for the defense of liberty in our country. On September 7, we will have the biggest public demonstrations in history. It will be a great moment for anyone who wants a free country to rise up against those who enforce tyranny.

May the examples of Elon Musk and Starlink represent the true will of the Brazilian people and echo in the leaden authorities: no more abuse, no more tyranny! We want our freedom back! Impeachment of Alexandre de Moraes, amnesty for the politically persecuted and a CPI on Abuse of Authority, now!

Marcel van Hattem

Marcel van Hattem é deputado federal em segundo mandato pelo NOVO-RS, possui bacharelado em Relações Internacionais e especialização em Direito, Economia e Democracia Constitucional, ambos pela Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). É mestre em Ciência Política pela Universidade de Leiden; em Jornalismo, Mídia e Globalização pelas Universidades de Aarhus/Dinamarca e de Amsterdã - Holanda. Marcel é egresso do Programa de Liderança Política, Social e Empresarial da Georgetown University em Washington, D.C., Estados Unidos. Na Câmara dos Deputados, Marcel é vice-líder da oposição ao governo Lula. **Os textos do colunista não expressam, necessariamente, a opinião da Gazeta do Povo.

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