USA threaten to impose new sanctions on Brazil after Bolsonaro’s conviction

The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said on Monday (15) that the United States will announce, in the coming days, measures against Brazil in reaction to the conviction of former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL).

The statement, given in an interview with the Fox News Network during a visit to Israel, adds to a series of Donald Trump government offensives against Brazilian democracy.

Rubio accused the Federal Supreme Court (STF) of “deteriorating the rule of law” and classified the ministers as “activist judges”.

Without citing names, he referred to Minister Alexandre de Moraes and even stated that the magistrate would have sought to impose sanctions on US citizens in a distortion of STF decisions that reached uninformation accounts hosted on platforms in the US.

“Judgment is just another chapter of a growing judicial oppression campaign that has been trying to reach American companies and even people who operate outside the United States,” he said.

The announcement of possible sanctions opens the interference of Washington on Brazil’s internal affairs.

According to the US press, new visa cassations are assessed, the inclusion of Moraes’s wife, Viviane Barci, in the list of sanctioned by Magnitsky Law-which provides for blocking goods and financial restrictions-and even the review of the exceptions granted to the 50% tariff applied by Trump to Brazilian exports.

These measures reinforce the climb of retaliation that the US government has been promoting since July, when the Republican President sent a letter to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announcing the tariff against Brazil.

That month, the US revoked the visas of eight STF and Health Minister Alexandre Padilha. Moraes was included in the Magnitsky Law list, as Washington often applies in cases of corruption and human rights violations.

Political pressure in defense of Bolsonaro

Bolsonaro was sentenced by the Supreme Court last Thursday (11), 27 years and three months in prison for crimes of attempted coup and criminal association, among others.

Since the beginning of August has been under house arrest, determined by Alexandre de Moraes under the investigation that investigates the performance of Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL-SP). R

Added in the US, the deputy has used social networks to pressure the Trump government to impose sanctions against court ministers, members of the Attorney General’s Office and the Federal Police.

Rubio’s threats align with Trump’s speech, who had already classified the trial as “terrible” and “very bad for Brazil”, comparing the case to the judicial situation itself after the January 6, 2021 attacks.

The Republican President called Bolsonaro a “good man” and said Washington will give a “response to height.”