On September 7, Brazil’s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro marked the country’s independence day by delivering two inflammatory speeches, one in the capital Brasilia and another in Sao Paulo, to mobilise his supporters against the judiciary.

“Either the head of this power gets in line or this power can suffer what we do not want,” the former army captain told thousands of his supporters at the pro-government demonstration in Brasilia, in what was widely considered a threat against the Brazilian Supreme Court. In return, his supporters chanted slogans against the courts, leftists, feminists and COVID-19 vaccines. Many of them also openly called for a military coup in support of the president.

Bolsonaro’s Independence Day attack on the judiciary was shocking, but not surprising.

Full article at Al Jazeera’s website. Date of publication: 22/09/2021.