Report by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), a body linked to the Organization of American States (OAS), highlighted that Brazil has “strong and effective” democratic institutions and ruled out the existence of a scenario of censorship in the country. 
According to the report, prepared after technical visit to the country in February this year and released on Friday (26), the Brazilian State holds free and fair elections, maintains the separation of Powers and operates under the Rule of Law, with constitutional guarantees of protection of human rights. The IACHR also states that there is judicial autonomy and a fully functioning system of checks and balances.
“The delegation found that Brazil has strong and effective democratic institutions,” states the document. “The State conducts free and fair elections, and is characterized by the separation of powers and the rule of law.”
The document frustrated the speech defended by allies of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who had been trying to convince the international community that there would be political persecution and restrictions on freedom of expression in Brazil.
The text also recognizes that the country underwent deliberate attempts to delegitimize the 2022 electoral results, in addition to the planning and execution of an attempted coup d’état. In this context, the commission assesses that the defense of democracy is an essential condition for the full exercise of freedom of expression.
“Defending democracy in Brazil is also a fundamental component of defending the right to freedom of expression in the country, since freedom of expression requires a democratic society to be fully exercised”, highlights the report.
The IACHR’s special rapporteur for freedom of expression, Pedro Vaca Villarreal, was in Brazil in February and met with Bolsonaro, STF ministers, members of the government and representatives of civil society. At the time, the meeting with the former president took place amid pressure from conservative parliamentarians in the United States for the OAS to adopt a tougher stance against decisions by the Brazilian Supreme Court.
Alerts to the Judiciary
Despite ruling out the censorship thesis, the IACHR makes recommendations and warnings to the Brazilian Judiciary, especially the Federal Supreme Court (STF). The document recognizes the “fundamental role” of the Court in investigating and containing attacks on democratic institutions, but highlights concern about the risk of excessive concentration of power.
“Although the defense of democracy must underlie State action, there is a risk of transforming a temporary solution, intended to be exceptional, into a lasting problem”, states the text, mentioning the possibility of creating precedents that could be used by authoritarian regimes in the future.
The document makes the following recommendations to the Brazilian Judiciary:
- Decisions about removing content on social media must be duly substantiated and communicated to the affected platforms and users;
- Restrictions on freedom of expression should not be based on vague concepts, such as “information disorder” or “decontextualized information”;
- The category of “anti-democratic acts” should not be used to limit legitimate criticism of authorities.
Defense of regulation
The report also defends the need to regulate digital platforms, as long as international human rights parameters are respected. The IACHR recommends the creation of legal frameworks to deal with the challenges of the digital environment and the use of artificial intelligence.
The document, however, highlighted that platforms should not be automatically held responsible for third-party content, as long as they comply with adequate moderation duties.
With this, the OAS report reinforces the assessment that the country faces challenges in the field of freedom of expression, but within a democratic institutional environment and far from the censorship scenario.
Political reactions
The Brazilian government assessed that the report reinforces the lack of censorship in the country and does not open space for international sanctions against Brazilian authorities. The chief minister of the Secretariat of Institutional Relations, Gleisi Hoffmann, celebrated the content and stated that the document dismantles the narrative that Brazil would experience a “dictatorship”.
“The international recognition of the truth about the coup is another victory for Justice and Brazilian democracy, to close the year 2025. And to keep us alert against any attempt at amnesty or sentence reduction for convicted coup plotters”, posted Gleisi on the social network X this Sunday (28).
Allies of former president Jair Bolsonaro also tried to interpret the report favorably. Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ) stated on social media that the text only confirms criticisms made by the opposition, mentioning risks in the use of concepts such as hate speech and disinformation.
“My interpretation of the report: ‘hate speech’ and ‘disinformation’ are used to pursue pre-determined targets and democracy in Brazil is relative. And there is no longer parliamentary immunity for right-wing politicians”, Flávio wrote in X on Friday (26).
