SAO PAULO (AP) — Thousands of supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro flooded Sao Paulo’s main boulevard for an Independence Day rally Saturday, buoyed by the government's blocking of tech billionaire Elon Musk's X platform, a ban they say is proof of their political persecution.
A few thousand demonstrators, clad in the yellow-and-green colors of Brazil's flag, poured onto Av. Paulista. References to the ban on X and images of Musk abounded.
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Demonstrators take part in a demonstration calling for the impeachment of Supreme Court Minister Alexandre de Moraes, who recently imposed a nationwide block on Elon Musk’s social media platform X, in Sao Paulo, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ettore Chiereguini)
Demonstrators take part in a protest calling for the impeachment of Supreme Court Minister Alexandre de Moraes, who recently imposed a nationwide block on Elon Musk’s social media platform X, in Sao Paulo, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ettore Chiereguini)
Demonstrators take part in a protest calling for the impeachment of Supreme Court Minister Alexandre de Moraes, who recently imposed a nationwide block on Elon Musk’s social media platform X, in Sao Paulo, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ettore Chiereguini)
Demonstrators take part in a protest calling for the impeachment of Supreme Court Minister Alexandre de Moraes, who recently imposed a nationwide block on Elon Musk’s social media platform X, in Sao Paulo, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ettore Chiereguini)
A demonstrator, his mouth covered with tape marked with the Brazilian Supreme Court acronym, takes part in a protest calling for the impeachment of Supreme Court Minister Alexandre de Moraes, who recently imposed a nationwide block on Elon Musk’s social media platform X, in Sao Paulo, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ettore Chiereguini)
A protester, dressed to depict Supreme Court Minister Alexandre de Moraes wearing a diaper, takes part in a protest calling for the impeachment of de Moraes, who recently imposed a nationwide block on Elon Musk's social media platform X, in Sao Paulo, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ettore Chiereguini)
Demonstrators take part in a protest calling for the impeachment of Supreme Court Minister Alexandre de Moraes, who recently imposed a nationwide block on Elon Musk's social media platform X, in Sao Paulo, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ettore Chiereguini)
“Thank you for defending our freedom,” read one banner praising the tech entrepreneur.
Saturday’s march was seen as a test of Bolsonaro’s capacity to mobilize turnout ahead of the October municipal elections, even though Brazil's electoral court has barred him from running for office until 2030. It's also something of a referendum on X, whose suspension has raised eyebrows even among some of Bolsonaro's opponents all the while stoking the flames of Brazil's deep-seated political polarization.
Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered X’s nationwide ban on Aug. 30 after months of feuding with Musk over the limits of free speech. The powerful judge has spearheaded efforts to ban far-right users from spreading misinformation on social media, and he ramped up his clampdown after die-hard Bolsonaro supporters ransacked Congress and the presidential palace on Jan. 8, 2023, in an attempt to overturn Bolsonaro's defeat in the presidential election.
On Saturday, Bolsonaro called Moraes a “dictator” and called on Brazil's Senate to impeach the judge. He also repeated the false claim that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had colluded with the judiciary to steal the 2022 election.
“They want to censor the truth, so the people don't know the truth,” Bolsonaro, with a raspy voice from a virus that sent him to the hospital earlier in the day, told the crowd.
Such comments are red meat to Bolsonaro’s supporters, who have lauded Musk's defiance of Brazil's judiciary.
“Elon Musk has been a warrior for freedom of speech,” staunch Bolsonaro ally and lawmaker Bia Kicis said in an interview. “The right is being oppressed, massacred, because the left doesn’t want the right to exist.”
“Our liberties are in danger, we need to make our voices heard. De Moraes is a tyrant, he should be impeached, and people on the streets is the only thing that will convince politicians to do it,” added retiree Amaro Santos as he walked down the thoroughfare Saturday,
Musk, a self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist,” has also urged Brazilians to turn out in droves for the rally, resharing someone else's post claiming that X’s ban had awakened people “to the fact that freedom isn’t free and needs to be fought for.” He's also created an X account, named for the controversial jurist, to publish sealed court orders directing X to shut down accounts deemed unlawful.
But De Moraes' decision to ban X was far from arbitrary, having been upheld by fellow Supreme Court justices. And while expression, online and elsewhere, faces more prohibitions under Brazil's laws than in the U.S., Musk has emerged as both a cause célèbre and a mouthpiece for unrestricted free speech.
Since 2019, X has shut down 226 accounts of far-right activities accused of undermining Brazil's democracy, including those of lawmakers affiliated with Bolsonaro’s party, according to court records.
But when it refused to take action on some accounts, de Moraes warned last month that its legal representative could be arrested, prompting X to disband its local office. The U.S.-based company refused to name a new representative — as required in order to receive court notices — and de Moraes ordered its nationwide suspension until it did so.
A Supreme Court panel unanimously upheld de Moraes’ decision to block X days later, undermining Musk's efforts to cast him as an authoritarian bent on censoring political speech.
The more controversial component of his ruling was the levy of a whopping $9,000 daily fine for regular Brazilians using virtual private networks (VPNs) to access X.
“Some of these measures that have been adopted by the Supreme Court appear to be quite onerous and abusive,” said Andrei Roman, CEO of Brazil-based pollster Atlas Intel.
In the lead-up to Saturday's protest, some right-wing politicians defied de Moraes’ ban and brazenly used a VPN to publish posts on X, calling for people to partake in the protests.
The march in Sao Paulo is organized in parallel to official events to celebrate Brazil’s anniversary of independence from Portugal. Commemorations have been fraught with tension in recent years, as Bolsonaro used them while in office to rally supporters and show political strength.
Three years ago, he threatened to plunge the country into a constitutional crisis when he declared he would no longer abide de Moraes' rulings. He has since toned down the attacks — a reflection of his own delicate legal situation.
Bolsonaro has been indicted twice since his term ended in 2022, most recently for alleged money laundering in connection with undeclared diamonds from Saudi Arabia. De Moraes is overseeing an investigation into the Jan. 8 riot, including whether Bolsonaro had a role in inciting it.
Associated Press writers Mauricio Savarese in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Joshua Goodman in Miami contributed to this report. Hughes reported from Rio de Janeiro.
Demonstrators take part in a demonstration calling for the impeachment of Supreme Court Minister Alexandre de Moraes, who recently imposed a nationwide block on Elon Musk’s social media platform X, in Sao Paulo, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ettore Chiereguini)
Demonstrators take part in a protest calling for the impeachment of Supreme Court Minister Alexandre de Moraes, who recently imposed a nationwide block on Elon Musk’s social media platform X, in Sao Paulo, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ettore Chiereguini)
Demonstrators take part in a protest calling for the impeachment of Supreme Court Minister Alexandre de Moraes, who recently imposed a nationwide block on Elon Musk’s social media platform X, in Sao Paulo, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ettore Chiereguini)
Demonstrators take part in a protest calling for the impeachment of Supreme Court Minister Alexandre de Moraes, who recently imposed a nationwide block on Elon Musk’s social media platform X, in Sao Paulo, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ettore Chiereguini)
A demonstrator, his mouth covered with tape marked with the Brazilian Supreme Court acronym, takes part in a protest calling for the impeachment of Supreme Court Minister Alexandre de Moraes, who recently imposed a nationwide block on Elon Musk’s social media platform X, in Sao Paulo, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ettore Chiereguini)
A protester, dressed to depict Supreme Court Minister Alexandre de Moraes wearing a diaper, takes part in a protest calling for the impeachment of de Moraes, who recently imposed a nationwide block on Elon Musk's social media platform X, in Sao Paulo, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ettore Chiereguini)
Demonstrators take part in a protest calling for the impeachment of Supreme Court Minister Alexandre de Moraes, who recently imposed a nationwide block on Elon Musk's social media platform X, in Sao Paulo, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ettore Chiereguini)
PARIS (AP) — France’s far-right and left-wing lawmakers joined together Wednesday in a historic no-confidence vote prompted by budget disputes that forces Prime Minister Michel Barnier and his Cabinet members to resign, a first since 1962.
The National Assembly approved the motion by 331 votes. A minimum of 288 were needed.
President Emmanuel Macron insisted he will serve the rest of his term until 2027. However, he will need to appoint a new prime minister for the second time after July’s legislative elections led to a deeply divided parliament.
Macron will address the French on Thursday evening, his office said, without providing details. Barnier is expected to formally resign by then.
A conservative appointed in September, Barnier becomes the shortest-serving prime minister in France’s modern Republic.
“I can tell you that it will remain an honor for me to have served France and the French with dignity,” Barnier said in his final speech before the vote.
“This no-confidence motion… will make everything more serious and more difficult. That’s what I’m sure of,” he said.
Wednesday's crucial vote rose from fierce opposition to Barnier's proposed budget.
The National Assembly, France’s lower house of parliament, is deeply fractured, with no single party holding a majority. It comprises three major blocs: Macron’s centrist allies, the left-wing coalition New Popular Front, and the far-right National Rally. Both opposition blocs, typically at odds, are uniting against Barnier, accusing him of imposing austerity measures and failing to address citizens’ needs.
Speaking on TF1 television after the vote, National Rally leader Marine Le Pen said “we had a choice to make, and our choice is to protect the French” from a “toxic” budget.
Le Pen also accused Macron of being “largely responsible for the current situation,” adding that “the pressure on the President of the Republic will get stronger and stronger.”
Speaking at the National Assembly ahead of the vote, hard-left lawmaker Eric Coquerel had called on the government to “stop pretending the lights will go out,” noting the possibility of an emergency law to levy taxes from Jan. 1, based on this year’s rules.
“The special law will prevent a shutdown. It will allow us to get through the end of the year by delaying the budget by a few weeks,” Coquerel said.
Macron must appoint a new prime minister, but the fragmented parliament remains unchanged. No new legislative elections can be held until at least July, creating a potential stalemate for policymakers.
Macron said discussions about him potentially resigning were “make-believe politics” during a trip to Saudi Arabia earlier this week, according to French media reports.
“I’m here because I’ve been elected twice by the French people,” Macron said. He was also reported as saying: “We must not scare people with such things. We have a strong economy.”
While France is not at risk of a U.S.-style government shutdown, political instability could spook financial markets.
France is under pressure from the European Union to reduce its colossal debt. The country’s deficit is estimated to reach 6% of gross domestic product this year and analysts say it could rise to 7% next year without drastic adjustments. The political instability could push up French interest rates, digging the debt even further.
Carsten Brzeski, global chief of macro at ING Bank, said uncertainty over France’s future government and finances is deterring investment and growth. “The impact of France not having a government would clearly be negative for the growth of France and hence the Eurozone,” Brzeski said.
France has seen bond market borrowing costs rise, bringing back ugly memories of the Greek debt crisis and default in 2010-2012.
Analysts say France is far from a similar crisis because much of its outstanding debt does not come due for years, and because its bonds remain in demand due to a shortage of German government bonds. Additionally, the European Central Bank could intervene to lower French borrowing costs in case of extreme market turmoil, though the bar for that remains high.
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AP Journalist David McHugh in Frankfurt, Germany, contributed to the story.
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen, center, applauds with other National Rally parliament members during conservative lawmaker Eric Ciotti's speech prior to a vote on a no-confidence motion that could bring him down and his cabinet for the first time since 1962, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 the National Assembly in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
National Assembly president Yaël Braun-Pivet announces the results after France's far-right and left-wing lawmakers joined together to vote a no-confidence motion prompted by budget disputes that forces Prime Minister Michel Barnier to resign, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen poses prior to an interview on French TV channel TF1, in Boulogne-Billancourt, outside Paris, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 after France's far-right and left-wing lawmakers joined together to vote a no-confidence motion prompted by budget disputes that forces Prime Minister Michel Barnier to resign. (Stephane de Sakutin, Pool via AP)
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen poses prior to an interview on French TV channel TF1, in Boulogne-Billancourt, outside Paris, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 after France's far-right and left-wing lawmakers joined together to vote a no-confidence motion prompted by budget disputes that forces Prime Minister Michel Barnier to resign. (Stephane de Sakutin, Pool via AP)
A scoreboard at the National Assembly shows the results of a no-confidence motion vote prompted by budget disputes that forces Prime Minister Michel Barnier to resign, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
French Prime Minister Michel Barnier addresses the National Assembly prior to a vote on a no-confidence motion that could bring him down and his cabinet for the first time since 1962, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
French Prime Minister Michel Barnier addresses the National Assembly prior to a vote on a no-confidence motion that could bring him down and his cabinet for the first time since 1962, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
French Prime Minister Michel Barnier leaves after addressing the National Assembly prior to a vote on a no-confidence motion that could bring him down and his cabinet for the first time since 1962, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
French Prime Minister Michel Barnier gets applause from ministers after addressing the National Assembly prior to a vote on a no-confidence motion that could bring him down and his cabinet for the first time since 1962, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
French Prime Minister Michel Barnier gets applause from ministers and parliament members after addressing the National Assembly prior to a vote on a no-confidence motion that could bring him down and his cabinet for the first time since 1962, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen speaks at the National Assembly prior to a no-confidence vote that could bring down the Prime Minister and the government for the first time since 1962, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
French far-left France Unbowed party parliament member Eric Coquerel speaks at the National Assembly prior to a no-confidence vote that could bring down the Prime Minister and the government for the first time since 1962, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
French far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon listens to speeches rom the tribunes at the National Assembly prior to a no-confidence vote that could bring down the Prime Minister and the government for the first time since 1962, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
French far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon, left, listens to speeches from the tribunes at the National Assembly prior to a no-confidence vote that could bring down the Prime Minister and the government for the first time since 1962, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
Lawmakers convene at the National Assembly during a debate and prior to a no-confidence vote that could bring down the Prime Minister and the government for the first time since 1962, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen arrives to deliver her speech at the National Assembly prior to a no-confidence vote that could bring down the Prime Minister and the government for the first time since 1962, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen delivers her speech at the National Assembly prior to a no-confidence vote that could bring down the Prime Minister and the government for the first time since 1962, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen delivers her speech at the National Assembly prior to a no-confidence vote that could bring down the Prime Minister and the government for the first time since 1962, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
French Prime Minister Michel Barnier listens to speeches at the National Assembly prior to a no-confidence vote that could bring down the Prime Minister and the government for the first time since 1962, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
French Prime Minister Michel Barnier listens to speeches at the National Assembly prior to a no-confidence vote that could bring down the Prime Minister and the government for the first time since 1962, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
French Prime Minister Michel Barnier holds a document during speeches at the National Assembly prior to a no-confidence vote that could bring down the Prime Minister and the government for the first time since 1962, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
Former French President and now socialist party parliament member Francois Hollande sits at the National Assembly before French lawmakers vote on a no-confidence motion that could bring down the Prime Minister and the government for the first time since 1962, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
French far-left France Unbowed party parliament group president Mathilde Panot, right, gestures at the National Assembly before French lawmakers vote on a no-confidence motion that could bring down the Prime Minister and the government for the first time since 1962, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen, right, talks with a National Rally parliament member at the National Assembly before French lawmakers vote on a no-confidence motion that could bring down the Prime Minister and the government for the first time since 1962, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen sits at the National Assembly before French lawmakers vote on a no-confidence motion that could bring down the Prime Minister and the government for the first time since 1962, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
French Prime Minister Michel Barnier, center, talks to people at the National Assembly before French lawmakers vote on a no-confidence motion that could bring down the prime minister and the government for the first time since 1962, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
French Prime Minister Michel Barnier, center, talks to people at the National Assembly before French lawmakers vote on a no-confidence motion that could bring down the prime minister and the government for the first time since 1962, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
