International
Bolsonaro gathers thousands of Brazilians in defense of Musk and his battle against the Supreme Court
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro gathered thousands of his supporters this Saturday in São Paulo, where he again attacked the Supreme Court judge who is investigating him and Elon Musk, amid the controversy over the suspension of the social network X.
The far-right leader also fueled the ghost of electoral fraud on Paulista Avenue, which was partially occupied, although with fewer attendees compared to the protest of February 25, which was held at a time when the judicial fence was tightening against him.
Coinciding with Brazil’s Independence Day, the former president (2019-2022) called on Congress to put a brake on Alexandre de Moraes, “that dictator who does more damage to Brazil than (President) Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva himself,” he said.
Bolsonarism raises the tone against the Supreme Court
De Moraes, one of the eleven magistrates of the high court, is currently the number one public enemy of the extreme right that embodies Bolsonaro and in this Saturday’s protest he was the target of all criticism.
In his hands he has several processes in which Bolsonaro appears as investigated, including one for allegedly plotting a coup d’état against Lula and another for spreading false news and seriously attacking democratic institutions.
In that last cause is also Musk. The owner of X and Tesla is suspected of “obstruction of justice”, “criminal organization” and “incitement to crime,” after failing to comply with several court orders that forced him to eliminate profiles suspected of misinformation.
On Paulista Avenue, the face of the South African businessman appeared stamped on several posters with proclamations against the Supreme Court, and specifically against De Moraes, on whom serious disqualifications were poured, such as “criminal”, “censor” and “dictator”.
“They want to censor the truth,” Bolsonaro exclaimed, who was aphonic at the end of a bumpy speech that began demanding that the Police disconnect a sound system that was bothering him near the truck from which he led the act.
Tarcísio de Freitas invited to “not let” freedom die
Previously, the governor of the state of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas, appointed as Bolsonaro’s possible political successor, invited those present to “not let freedom die.”
“We are here to say that there is no censorship or blocking of social networks. We want to pacify this country,” he said in a moderate tone.
More ardent was the intervention of the influential evangelical pastor Silas Malafaia, who financed the demonstration and accused De Moraes of “tearing the Constitution.”
“De Moraes has to be dismissed and go to jail,” he said.
Another of the demands of Bolsonaro and his allies was to demand from Congress an amnesty for the convicts who, on January 8, 2023, stormed the headquarters of the three powers, in Brasilia, to incite a military intervention against Lula.
“Suspending X is taking away our freedom”
The demonstration took place peacefully, except for some isolated incident, such as the throwing of eggs from one of the apartments in the area against the Bolsonaros.
The acolytes of the former head of state dressed in green and yellow colors, and wrapped themselves with flags of Israel and Brazil, which were mixed with posters in which the presidents of Argentina, Javier Milei, and El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, as well as the former US governor Donald Trump, appeared.
Joana Popular, a 35-year-old micro-entrepreneur, traveled 2,000 kilometers from the state of Bahia, Lula’s traditional vote barn, to join the Bolsonaro campaign against the Judiciary.
“Suspending X is taking away our freedom. We can’t let this last,” this former user of Musk’s platform, blocked in Brazil since last Saturday, told EFE.
A few meters away, Renato do Nascimento defines himself as “the Joker (The Joker) on the right.” He comes disguised as the villain of Batman.
“The Supreme is exceeding his powers a lot. They are judicial activists. Musk does well because illegal orders are not fulfilled,” said this 45-year-old merchant.
For his part, Lula led this Saturday the civic-military parade on the occasion of Independence Day, in Brasilia.
Today he did not make any political speech, but the day before he gave one on the national network in which he stressed that his Government will “always be intolerant of anyone, whatever fortune they have, who challenges Brazilian legislation,” in an apparent allusion to Musk.
International
Mexican government prioritizes 191 communities after deadly floods
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed on Wednesday that the death toll from recent rains and floods across several central states has risen to 66, while the federal government has activated air bridges and prioritized assistance in 191 isolated communities.
“Unfortunately, 66 people have died, and 75 remain missing,” the president said during her morning press conference. She added that the official death toll will be updated later in a new report.
As of Tuesday, authorities had reported 64 fatalities. Sheinbaum also announced the creation of a public information center to centralize official data on the deceased, missing persons, damaged homes, and cut-off communities.
According to the president, the number of missing persons has decreased thanks to coordination with state authorities.
“Through calls to phone line 079, 103 people who had been reported missing have now been located,” she explained.
Priority Municipalities
The president noted that the federal government has classified 191 communities as ‘priority’, a designation based mainly on the percentage of homes affected.
International
New road and bridge explosions raise alarm amid indigenous protests in Ecuador
Ecuadorian authorities are investigating two explosions that occurred early Wednesday, one on a road in the southern part of the country and another under a bridge in Guayas province. These incidents follow the car bomb explosion in the coastal city of Guayaquil, also in Guayas, which occurred the day before and left one person dead and 30 injured.
Press reports indicate that one person was injured and several vehicles were damaged in the explosion on the Cuenca-Girón-Pasaje road in the south.
“Besides yesterday’s explosion in Guayaquil, we have received reports of explosives placed on bridges along the Guayaquil-Machala and Machala-Cuenca routes to disrupt traffic,” said Roberto Luque, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport (MIT).
On his X social media account, Luque reported that authorities have been deployed to the sites to assess the damage and determine the current condition of the structures.
“What they haven’t achieved with their call for a strike, some are trying to achieve through terrorism,” he stated, referring to the 24 days of protests organized by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (Conaie) against rising diesel prices and other demands.
The protests, called at a national level, have Imbabura province as their epicenter. Roadblocks have also been reported in the northern part of Pichincha province, whose capital is Quito, while activities in the rest of the country continue normally.
International
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Ecuador’s Armed Forces carried out an operation on Monday — including airstrikes — against illegal mining in the town of Buenos Aires, in the country’s north, Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo reported.
The mountainous, gold-rich area has been a hotspot for illegal mining since 2017, located in the Andean province of Imbabura.
In 2019, former president Lenín Moreno deployed around 2,400 soldiers to the region in an attempt to curb the illegal activity. “The operation began with mortar fire, followed by gunfire and bombing runs by Supertucano aircraft,” Loffredo said in a video released by the Defense Ministry.
He added that the operation would continue on Tuesday with patrols across the area to locate possible members of “irregular armed groups that may have crossed from the Colombian border.”
The Armed Forces stated on X that the intervention focused on the “complete elimination of multiple illegal mining tunnels” in the areas known as Mina Nueva and Mina Vieja.
The operation coincided with the deployment of a military and police convoy into Imbabura, which has been the epicenter of protests against President Daniel Noboa since September 22, following his decision to scrap the diesel subsidy.
Mexican government prioritizes 191 communities after deadly floods
New road and bridge explosions raise alarm amid indigenous protests in Ecuador
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
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