Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), commented this Friday (12) the withdrawal of the economic sanctions of the Magnitsky Law, which were applied by the United States government against him, his wife, lawyer Viviane Barci de Moraes, and the company Lex – Instituto de Estudos Jurídicas, linked to the minister’s family.
During the launch of the SBT News channel, in São Paulo, the minister said that the “truth prevailed” and thanked President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for his commitment to Brazilian diplomacy to convince President Donald Trump’s government to revoke the measures. Lula was also at the event.
“The truth won today, president. In July, when the Supreme Court met at the presidency to discuss these sanctions against the Brazilian Judiciary, I asked the president not to take any action, not to take any measures, because I believed that the truth, once it reached the North American authorities, would prevail”, he stated.
Moraes considered that the removal of sanctions against him represents a victory for the Judiciary, national sovereignty and Brazilian democracy.
“The Brazilian Judiciary has not bowed to threats, coercion and will not bow, and will continue with impartiality, seriousness and courage”, he guaranteed.
The minister also assessed that the country sets an example of democracy for foreign countries. “Brazil reaches the end of the year setting an example of democracy and institutional strength to all countries in the world”, he added.
Sanctions
The sanctions were applied in July this year after federal deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL-SP), who is in the United States, worked with President Donald Trump’s government to retaliate against Moraes for the decisions against Jair Bolsonaro.
The Magnitsky Act provides for the blocking of bank accountsassets and financial investments in the United States, the prohibition of transactions with American companies that are in Brazil, in addition to the prohibition of entry into the country.
Despite the sanctions, the measure had little impact. Moraes has no assets or bank accounts based in that country. The minister also does not usually travel to the United States.
Last month, Eduardo Bolsonaro became a defendant in the Supreme Court for the crime of coercion during the process. The parliamentarian was denounced by the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) for the parliamentarian’s actions with the North American authorities.
Grief
After the announcement of the removal of sanctions, Eduardo and blogger Paulo Figueiredo, who is also a defendant for promoting the sanctions, declared that they received the news of the revocation with “regret”.
“We regret that Brazilian society, given the window of opportunity it had at hand, was unable to build the necessary political unity to face its own structural problems. The lack of internal cohesion and insufficient support for initiatives carried out abroad contributed to the worsening of the current situation”, they declared.
