Alexander de Moraes. The powerful Brazilian judge who was scolded by Musk

Powerful, divisive and implacable, Alexandre de Moraes leads from Brazil’s Supreme Court a crusade against disinformation that has brought him into conflict with far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro and, more recently, tycoon Elon Musk.

A source close to the judge assures that Mr. Moraes “still has political ambitions.” And why not “become president”, even if the person in question has never mentioned it publicly

Bald with a smooth head that shines in the spotlight, bushy eyebrows, a stern gaze: his build contributes to his image as a strong judge. But behind the scenes, the 55-year-old judge who also presides over the Supreme Electoral Court (TSE) is described as a man full of humor.

For Elon Musk, he is a “dictator” who stifles freedom of expression. Since April 6, the head of Tesla and SpaceX has stepped up attacks against him on his X platform (formerly Twitter). He threatened to no longer comply with his court orders.

“Xandao”, as he is known in Brazil, responded by ordering an investigation against him, citing the alleged “criminal exploitation of X”.
In a highly polarized country, some accuse the judge of censorship and abuse of power, while others praise his relentless defense of democracy in the face of repeated attacks on institutions by Jair Bolsonaro and his supporters.

However, nothing seemed to predestined this constitutional law expert to become the bête noire of Brazil’s extreme right.
Alexandre de Moraes was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2017 by former center-right President Michel Temer (2016-2018), where he was Minister of Justice.

And during his tenure as Secretary of State Security of São Paulo, between 2015 and 2016, he was criticized by the left, which accused him of repression of social movements.
“He is a political animal,” Antonio Carlos de Freitas, an expert on constitutional law, told AFP, describing a “meteoric rise” to the country’s highest court.

“He has good relations in several spheres, including the military,” confides a source in TSE.
In June 2023, the electoral judiciary chaired by Alexandre de Moraes declared Jair Bolsonaro ineligible for eight years for spreading false information about Brazil’s electoral system.

Today, he is still in charge of the most sensitive investigations against the former head of state (2019-2022).
One of them concerns an alleged coup d’état planned to prevent the return to power of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who defeated him in the October 2022 elections.
This plan, according to investigators, provided for the arrest of Alexandre de Moraes.

Another investigation under the jurisdiction of this judge is trying to determine whether the former president was the instigator of the riots on January 8, 2023 in Brasilia, when thousands of his sympathizers, refusing to accept Lula’s victory, looted the places of power.

Judge Moraes has already ordered an investigation into Mr Bolsonaro and his relatives while he was president, leading the person in question to call him a “nobody” in 2021.
“He became an enemy of the Bolsonaros (…) attacking disinformation,” said Antonio Carlos de Freitas.
In the name of fighting fake news, a judge ordered the blocking of social media accounts of influential figures in Brazil’s ultraconservative movements.

Elon Musk recently hinted that he would unlock them. But he took no action at the moment. Better: X’s representatives in Brazil informed Judge Moraes that they will abide by the decisions of the Brazilian courts, in a letter dated April 13 and consulted on Tuesday by AFP.

The clash inspired jokes from netizens hoping it would turn into a real fight in the ring, like the one that was supposed to pit Mr. Mask against Met boss Mark Zuckerberg, but ultimately never saw the light of day.
Judge Moraes would have a case to make: he is an avid muay-thai practitioner.

Sparing comments in the press or on his X account called “@Alexandre”, which has one million subscribers, the magistrate prefers to speak at Supreme Court hearings.
“Freedom of expression is not freedom of aggression,” he thundered last week.