US congresswoman displays photo of Moraes in Congress and calls him a fool

North American deputy Maria Elvira Salazar (Republican Party) displayed a photo of Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the STF (Supreme Federal Court), during a session of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the United States Congress this Tuesday (7.May .2024).

The republican criticized Moraes’ performance and called the president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) by “ex-convict” for corruption during the public hearing, which included representatives and senators from the Brazilian opposition in the gallery.

“We don’t know if the minister is a socialist, or if he is a fool, or if he is a useful fool for the socialists. But we know that he is curtailing one of the fundamental rights of a democracy, which is freedom of expression.”said the congresswoman.

Salazar also praised X owner (former Twitter) Elon Musk for “to challenge” the decisions of the STF minister.

The session’s theme was “Brazil: the crisis of democracy, freedom, and the rule of law?” and heard witnesses about alleged attacks on freedom of expression, censorship and excesses by the Brazilian Judiciary, citing Moraes’ decisions.

Below are some of the people interviewed:

• Michael Shellenberger, American journalist and author of Twitter Files;
• Christopher Pavlovski, founder of Rumble – a social network who left Brazil because he disagreed with court decisions in 2023; It is
• Paulo Figueiredo Filho, journalist investigated for alleged spread of disinformation in the 2022 elections. He is the grandson of former president João Figueiredo (1918-1999), the last of the Military Dictatorship (1964-1985).

In addition to the witnesses, Brazilian federal deputies were present:

Senator Eduardo Girão (Novo-CE) and former federal deputy Deltan Dallagnol (Novo-PR) also attended the session.

The Brazilian authorities, however, were not in a position to be witnesses. But they appeared as guests of the US Congress on an official mission. The trip was paid for by the Chamber of Deputies. In Dallagnol’s case, the trip was paid for with his own resources.

Those present and other members of the opposition celebrated the republican deputy’s statements. During the session, applause was heard from the gallery and Paulo Figueiredo even said that the congresswoman had the courage to say what everyone thinks.