Brazil’s Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes declared Friday that the court will not be swayed by sanctions or foreign interference regarding the upcoming trial of former President Jair Bolsonaro, expected later this year.
De Moraes, who is leading the criminal case against Bolsonaro, did not directly mention the United States or Donald Trump, despite rising tensions between the two countries this week. The U.S. Treasury Department recently sanctioned De Moraes, accusing him of suppressing freedom of expression, while Trump signed an executive order imposing a 50% tariff on Brazilian imports.
The U.S. cited what it described as “political persecution” of Bolsonaro as justification for these actions. Bolsonaro faces trial over allegations that he tried to cling to power after losing the 2022 election to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. De Moraes confirmed that the trial process is in its final phase and is expected to conclude by year’s end.
“The Supreme Court’s procedural schedule will neither be advanced nor delayed,” De Moraes said. “The court will ignore the sanctions.”
He was supported by Supreme Court President Luís Roberto Barroso and Justice Gilmar Mendes, who both affirmed the judiciary’s independence. De Moraes emphasized Brazil’s commitment to sovereignty, democracy, and the rule of law, stating, “The Supreme Court will always be unwavering in the defense of national sovereignty, in its commitment to democracy and the rule of law, in its commitment to the independence of the judiciary and the constitutional principles of Brazil.”
While justices met in the capital, Brasilia, protests took place outside the U.S. consulate in São Paulo. Demonstrators, organized by unions and social movements, carried banners defending Brazil’s sovereignty and urged Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to keep out of Brazil and Palestine. The protesters also burned effigies of Trump and Bolsonaro.
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