'We are not a democracy anymore': Brazilian commentator sounds alarm on increasing censorship
On last night's episode of The Ezra Levant Show, Brazilian commentator Rodrigo Constantino discussed how his country's government is increasing censorship and stifling free speech.
Ezra Levant recently returned from Brazil after reporting from a massive rally against censorship in Sau Paulo. Brazilians were taking a stand against government-imposed censorship after judge Alexandre de Moraes banned Elon Musk's X throughout the country for failing to censor alleged 'misinformation' and 'hate speech.'
Rallygoers thanked @ElonMusk for preserving freedom of speech on X despite other social media platforms giving into Brazil's authoritarian censorship laws.
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) September 9, 2024
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Speaking about his experience being censored, Constantino said, "Almost three years ago I had my passport cancelled. Not even drug dealers or homicides have this kind of punishment."
"As a journalist I had my passport taken away from me, my social media is under censorship. And with 1.6 million followers on Twitter for example, they're not allowed to see my content," he said.
.@EzraLevant checks in from the outskirts of a rally in Sao Paulo where supporters of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro were hosting a rally opposing a powerful judge's decision to ban X in the country.https://t.co/LsPwtYp3k0
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Constantino went on: "And now nobody is able to see any content anymore because the X platform was banned from Brazil. I also had my bank accounts frozen. Why? Because of an opinion crime, because I've been criticizing what Alexandre de Moraes and the Supreme Court what they've been doing for the last three or four years."
"You're not supposed to criticize the electoral process anymore. If you criticize Alexandre de Moraes you are 'attacking the system and the institutions, the democracy itself,'" he said.
The Brazilian commentator went on to say, "The left found out that they don't need the people or the congress anymore. If only they can have like six judges in the Supreme Court, they can rule. They can do anything they want."
