In the wake of the tariff announced by Donald Trump, who will be valid on August 6, the inclusion of Minister Alexandre de Moraes on the list of authorities sanctioned by the Global Magnitsky Law, which took place on Wednesday (30), represents an unprecedented climb in the already worn-out relationship between the United States and Brazil.
The sanction against the minister aims to isolate him from the financial system, services and companies linked to the United States. If the Supreme Court tries to retaliate the decision forcing private institutions that operate in Brazil to serve Moraes, a scenario of legal insecurity and deep institutional friction should be configured in the country, according to analysts heard by Gazeta do Povo.
“Brazil takes a great risk of seeing its financial system committed,” says political scientist Elton Gomes, a professor at the Federal University of Piauí (UFPI). That is, if Alexandre de Moraes is blocked as an account holder in banks with operations in the United States and decide to trigger the justice in their own case, the scenario can get worse. “Brazilian banks – Bradesco, Itaú, whatever – will be required to end his account,” predicts the teacher. Otherwise, they could be the target of “very severe retaliation” by the US.
“Any company that sells a product, offers a service or issues a passage to a sanctioned person under magnitsky can be punished with heavy fines and deemed to default in the United States.”
Global Magnitsky law, incorporated into US ordering, is used to financially punish foreigners considered human rights violators or corruption. The sanction foresees the blocking of all the goods of the sanctioned in the US or under the control of US citizens. The measure was adopted after the US government revoked, on the 18th, the magistrate’s visa, “allies” in the Supreme Court and his family members.
In a statement, the Foreign Asset Control Office (OFAC) justified that Moraes used his position to authorize arbitrary arrests and suppress freedom of expression. “Alexandre de Moraes assumed the responsibility of being a judge and jury in an illegal witches against American and Brazilian citizens and companies,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Tariffs and sanction against Moraes contrast with diplomacy began in the nineteenth century. On May 26 last year, both countries celebrated 200 years of diplomatic relations. The US was one of the first countries to recognize Brazil’s independence in 1822 and sent the first resident diplomat in Latin America two years later in 1824.
According to international relations expert Marcelo Suano, the measures reflect a change in US strategic perception of Brazil. “Magnitsky law and taxation are complementary in the assessment that Brazil serves as a platform for strategic enemies,” says Suano. He accuses the Brazilian government of “providing spaces to these forces” and authoritarian practices.
Suano states that such actions make up a scenario in which “authorities act illegally and unconstitutionally to silence their people and massacre the opposition,” making Alexandre de Moraes symbol of these deviations and abuse.
Tariff officialization makes negotiations between Brasilia and Washington difficult
The publication of the 50% rate on Brazilian products, also on Wednesday, further aggravates trade relations and signals that proposals outside the terms defined by Trump can be disregarded by the American administration. On Tuesday (29), the government of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (PT) said that it sought to negotiate alternatives in parallel to the evaluation of a contingency plan.
Prepared by Vice President Geraldo Alckmin (PSB) and Finance Minister Fernando Haddad (PT), the document aims to support Brazilian companies most affected by the “tariff”. “The government’s orientation was to negotiate,” said Haddad.
Trump’s decree also mentioned the trial of former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and mentioned that he suffers “persecution, intimidation, censorship and a politically motivated process” by the Brazilian government. Trump condemned Moraes’ actions, stating that since 2019 the minister “abuses his judicial authority to threaten, reach and intimidate political opponents, protect corrupt allies and repress dissent, detrimental to US companies in Brazil.”
Although Lula claims to want the dialogue, according to IBMEC BH political scientist Adriano Cerqueira, his repeated criticism of Trump compromised a solid negotiation. “The negotiation was to have been started seriously since Trump’s first letter to Brazil,” he says. According to Cerqueira, the Brazilian president resorted to “Bravatas” and “patriotic” in search of popular support.
Since the tax announcement on July 9, Lula has alternated the tone of criticism. Initially, it threatened to adopt the reciprocity law to impose 50% tariff on American products, but retreated. On the 13th, he even proposed to give trump with jabuticaba to resolve the impasse. On July 17, he stated that the US President “was not elected to be the emperor of the world.”
Opposition parliamentarians celebrate Sanction to Moraes in response to the “omission” of the Senate
The inclusion of Moraes in Magnitsky Law positively repercussions among opposition parliamentarians. Deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL-SP) stated that the measure represents “justice” and “dignity”, noting that “abuses of authority now have global consequences”.
For PL leader in the House, Sostenes Cavalcante (RJ), “what the Brazilian Senate did not have the courage to do, the US did tightly.” He accused Moraes of “tearing the constitution, stepping on due process, silence Brazilians and censoring journalists.”
Deputy Carol de Toni (PL-SC) stressed that the hardest American law against human rights violators was applied to a Brazilian authority: “It is the international response to abuse, censorship and political persecution that Brazil lives.”
Deputy Marcel Van Hattem (Novo-RS) celebrated. “It left. Alexandre de Moraes sanctioned with the global magnitsky. The light at the end of the tunnel begins to appear!” Since the measure can mark a turning point.
For Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG), “the application of magnitsky law by the US is a milestone in the international denunciation against authority abuses in Brazil” and defended the magistrate’s amnesty and impeachment.
Lula reacts Trump’s tariff
In reaction to the officialization of the tariff on Brazilian products, Lula stated that for him “today is the sacred day of sovereignty.” He also said he will meet with ministers to discuss the situation.
“I am leaving here complete because I am gathering there to defend another sovereignty. The sovereignty of the Brazilian people due to the measures announced by the President of the United States. So today, to me, is the sacred day of sovereignty, a sovereignty of things I like,” Lula said during the sanction of the law that seals the use of animals in research and cosmetic tests.
The ministers summoned were Fernando Haddad (farm), Gleisi Hoffmann (Secretariat of Institutional Relations), Jorge Messias (Attorney General of the Union), Geraldo Alckmin (Vice President and Minister of Development, Industry and Commerce) and Sidônio Palmeira (Secretariat of Communication).
In an interview with the newspaper The New York Timesthe petista again criticized Trump for taxation and demanded that it be treated with respect by the president of the United States. “We are treating this with the utmost seriousness. However, seriousness does not mean subservience. I treat everyone with great respect, but I want to be treated with respect too,” Lula told the NOW.
Ministers of the petista government criticize sanctions to Moraes
The Minister of Institutional Relations, Gleisi Hoffmann (PT), said that the decision of the United States government to sanction Minister Alexandre Moraes of the Supreme Court (STF) is a “violent and arrogant act.”
“The new sanction of the Trump administration to Minister Alexandre de Moraes is a violent and arrogant act. Another chapter of the Bolsonaro family betrayal to the country. No nation can intrude on the judiciary of another. Solidarity to the minister and the STF. Total repudiation of the Lula administration to this absurdity,” he criticized, through a publication on social networks.
The Minister of the Attorney General of the Union, Jorge Messias, stated that the application of the magnitsky law against Moraes “represents a serious and unacceptable attack on our country’s sovereignty.”
By note, he said that “all appropriate measures, which are the responsibility of the Brazilian State to safeguard his sovereignty and institutions, especially in relation to the autonomy of his judiciary, will be adopted.”
