The protests coincided with Brazilian Independence Day celebrations, and many in attendance wore the yellow and green of the Brazilian flag as they expressed support for X and free speech rights more broadly, and called for lawmakers to impeach Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.
Elon Musk, who owns X, has contested orders from the Brazilian government over content moderation. De Moraes has repeatedly called on X to block accounts accused of spreading misinformation, but Musk—who has positioned himself as a free-speech proponent—has accused the Brazilian jurist of engaging in censorship.
“It is not possible for a company to operate in the territory of a country and intend to impose its vision on which rules should be valid or applied,” Justice Flavio Dino said this week as he sided with de Moraes in the majority opinion.
“A party that intentionally fails to comply with court decisions appears to consider itself above the rule of law. And so it can turn into an outlaw.”
Critics of the court order had urged their supporters to gather on the Avenida Paulista in Sao Paulo on Brazil’s Independence Day to protest. Some attendees at Saturday’s demonstration told The Epoch Times they traveled for hundreds of miles to be there.
“I’m here September 7th joining in with this huge crowd of people, seeking our freedom,” Ludmila Braga told The Epoch Times after traveling about 500 miles from Anápolis to attend the rally.
A demonstrator who identified himself only as Herbert of Florianopolis, indicated he'd also made the more than 400-mile trip to Sao Paulo to express his support for X’s operations in Brazil.
Bolsonaro Allies Rally Support
Along the Avenida Paulista, protesters waved a variety of signs with such messages as “Thank you, Elon Musk,” and “God, Nation, Family and Liberty,” the latter of which has been a popular rallying cry for supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
Brazil President Lula da Silva, a left-leaning politician, defeated the right-leaning Bolsonaro by a thin margin to win the presidency in Brazil’s 2022 election. Bolsonaro and his allies have since accused da Silva and his allies of persecution and reprisals, including supporting censorship orders targeting the X social media platform.
While da Silva attended Independence Day parades in the capital, Brasilia, many at the Sao Paulo demonstration identified themselves as Bolsonaro supporters.
Pro-Bolsonaro lawmakers mingled with the crowds in Sao Paulo and urged support for petitions to remove de Moraes from the court.
“We are here at the Paulista, to fight for our freedom,” Brazilian lawmaker Bia Kicis told The Epoch Times.
A Bolsonaro ally and member of the minority in Brazil’s lower legislative chamber—the Chamber of Deputies—Kicis said she and other minority members in the chamber are preparing to block the Legislature from advancing any other votes until Brazil’s upper legislative chamber takes up an impeachment petition to remove de Moraes.
