If the leading opponents of the government are faced with the choice of either fleeing the country or being imprisoned, does that mean the country is tyrannical and authoritairan? It all depends on whether we like the ideology of the government or not.

The Brazilian Supreme Court Judge revered by the Brazilian left (and now the American left for seizing Bolsonaro's passport), Alexandre de Moraes, comes from the extremist "law-and-order" faction of the Brazilian Right as well as its extreme pro-austerity neoliberal pro-banker wing. Less than a decade ago, when Moraes was nominated to the Supreme Court, the Brazilian left branded him a white supremacist, a fascist and a leader of the right-wing coup government. One of Brazil's leading left-wing politicians (@GuilhermeBoulos) explicitly accused Moraes of having committed the worst crime against humanity that exists: "RACIST GENOCIDE," by deliberately murdering poor black people en masse while he was the Justice Secretary for São Paulo Governor Geraldo Alckmin (who himself spent years being called all the same names by the Brazilian left until Lula picked Alckmin as VP in 2022). Then -- starting in 2019 -- Moraes began censoring, imprisoning and persecuting Lula's enemies and imprisoning his own critics, and was overnight transformed by the large Brazilian media and the left into the Savior of Brazilian Justice and Democracy. Only on the left can one transform from from *fascist and genocidal racist* to heroic guardian of justice in less than a decade. Also, Moraes' own corruption scandals make everyone else's seem trivial, yet his passport works just fine and he freely travels the world in great wealth that he and his family received from the corrupt billionaire banker responsible for Brazil's worst-ever banking collapse. Enjoy!

De todas as diversas denúncias de corrupção envolvendo Vorcaro e o Banco Master, as provas mais fortes e contundentes são as que pesam contra Alexandre de Moraes. Alguém realmente acredita que ele algum dia será investigado por qualquer uma dessas acusações (Flávio Dino já bloqueou a investigação do STF)? Alguém acredita que exista sequer 1% de chance de ele ser responsabilizado pela destruição das mensagens trocadas com Vorcaro ou pelos R$ 200 milhões envolvidos? Isso é tudo o que você precisa saber sobre a legitimidade da Justiça brasileira neste momento.

CRUCIAL FACTS ON THE FLAVIO BOLSONARO MATTER: It's not just Flavio Bolsonaro who fled Brazil to escape the tyrannical persecution of Alexandre de Moraes and the pro-Lula wing of the Supreme Court. There are dozens of Brazilian exiles who have done the same: dissident journalists, activists, bloggers, and politicians who all fled to avoid certain prison for political opposition. In most of these cases, Moraes has demanded the extradition of those who fled and whom he wants to imprison back in Brazil. But Moraes' extradition requests have been repeatedly denied by multiple countries and institutions on the grounds that these prosecutions are politically motivated or otherwise corrupted. Among those concluing this: Spain, Italy, INTERPOL, and even the US under Biden. Just today, Italy refused Brazil's demand to extradite a person named @edutagli, who was once a top aide to Moraes, but then fled to Italy after Moraes accused him of having been my source in a huge leak from Moraes' office that I obtained for reporting I did with @Folha in 2024. That massive leak enabled us to publish roughly 20 articles proving systemic abuses of power by Moraes against his political enemies: exactly the reason so many Brazilians, including Bolsonaro, know they can't get a fair trial in Brazil. Italy today refused to extradite the person accused of being our source on the grounds that the proceedings would be a farce because Moraes — as he so often does — wants to act as the supposed victim, investigator, and judge, and thus his demand falls well outside of Italy's extradition standards. Again, multiple countries have concluded the same, showing what a farce Brazil's once-respected judicial system has become under the Lula/Moraes regime. Moraes has overseen a system of political persecution masquerading as criminal justice that has been recognized as a sham by multiple countries that are not exactly Bolsonaro allies. Nobody in their right mind who is a political enemy of Moraes would remain in Brazil once if it is clear that he intends to imprison you, since he has proven that guilt is a foregone conclusion and he operates with no legal or constitutional limits of any kind. That is why asylum under international law exists: to protect those who cannot obtain justice in their own country because the justice system has been corrupted and commandeered for political persecution. Many people, such as Julian Assange, have needed that protection (which Lula cheered). Now people need it from Moraes in Brazil. That is sadly one of the main legacies of both Lula and Moraes over the last six years.

In modern-day justice, we don't hold people accountable for the actions of their relatives. If your brother is a rapist, it won't affect how the justice system treats you. Also, while Jair Bolsonaro left Brazil after the 2022 election, he voluntarily returned to Brazil.

For those who decided to invent some bizarre new authoritarian law-and-order rule today to justify Moraes' ban on Bolsonaro leaving the country -- that if you're under investigation (without even being charged), it's normal to have your passport seized -- please note: Lula's son is engulfed in several major financial scandals and investigations relating to lobbyist corruption. His passport has never been seized or cancelled. In fact, he left Brazil to go live in extreme luxury in Spain (in the same neighborhood where several of the world's highest-paid soccer players live), where nobody can explain the source of what appears to be his great wealth. Countless rich and powerful people in Brazil, including Lula's allies, are under investigation yet freely leave the country when they want: jetting off to Dubai, France, wherever. Truly bizarre how some on the left start fabricating extremist police powers when it suits them.