• One of the judge-ministers of the #SupremeCourt (#STF), #EdsonFachin, in a monocratic decision, nullified the sentence former president #Lula received in four charges, meaning he can no longer even be considered a ex-criminal, and also he's got back all his rights to run for a political position. Fachin always showed support for the left before he was appointed to be judge-minister in 2015 by former president #DilmaRousseff, for whom he recorded a campaign video in her favor in 2010. But, this, per se, still doesn't fully explain his monocratic and outrageous decision. What might be a reason behind it was the imminent arrest of #DeltanDallagnol and #SergioMoro. Lula's sentence's nullification means illegal #LavaJato practices would have no more legal implications. According to a tweet by #Dallagnol, #Fachin's argument for the nullification was that Lula's process should have taken place in #Brasilia, not #Curitiba, due to jurisdiction issues, an opinion Dallagnol disagrees on and writes it had been already discussed by the STF. Coincidentally or not, 2 days prior to Fachin's decision, Lula is reported asking #FernandoHaddad (who ran against #Bolsonaro) if he'd be his vice in a future campaign, and 1 day prior, democrat-like Senator #HumbertoCosta tweeted a picture of Lula at a gym with the text, “YOU BETTER GET READY...” Fachin's decision will be reviewed by the full bench. Some judge-ministers are (allegedly) not Ok by the prospect of seeing #Moro get away with his illegal actions. #haddad
• Two videos posted last weekend show the front of #SaoPaulo's mayor, #JoaoDoria, home being heavily secured. In them, we can spot 1 full-size VAN, 15 cars (compact hatches, and small and mid-size SUVs), 8 motorcycles, and at least 23 police officers. Later on the weekend, a group of dozens of people gathered at one corner of his street (that was blocked) to protest the excessive security, the high expenses in propaganda by the state, the strong pandemic measures, and the fact that his son was filmed making a party in one of his dad's companies' buildings where nobody (that was captured in the video) where wearing a mask or were social distancing. According to conservative congressman #GilDiniz, there were at least 250 police officers there. We still don't know the reason why for such security. The video of his son's party immediately got viral and call #Doria's attention, who went there to personally confront the person who posted the images. He starts speaking to her without a mask while pointing his finger at her, and he says she's posting fake videos. He exposed her full name on social media and kept pushing that she posted fake videos, and now she's planning to seek compensation for doxing and false accusation. She's to be heard this Wednesday at the police. #covid #pandemic #fakenews

• In #SaoPaulo there is this area were many crack addicts get together to use this and other drugs. It's a skid row, it's called #Cracolandia ('Crackoland'). Despite all the governor's and mayor's virtual signaling, nothing's been done there to prevent agglomeration. You see no police officers dispersing or arresting people there; no social workers, no volunteer doctors and nurses,... #covid #doria
• The #SupremeCourt (#STF) already got the majority of the judge-ministers to agree on renewing the power of the states to decide over their health measures regardless of the gov't recommendations. Only one judge-minister hasn't declared his side yet, #KassioNunes, appointed by #Bolsonaro. The president was hopeful that the STF would not renew the states' autonomy. #pandemic
• A city called #Guaraciaba, #SantaCatarina, is considering mandating #COVID infected (or suspected) people to wear a wrist band so they can be easily identified and kept from crowding places. If this idea goes ahead, citizens will also be encouraged to inform on people who go out without their wrist band.
• The State of #RioGrandedoSul entered phase black until the 21st, and during this time only essential products can be sold on supermarkets. Some widely circulated photos show a supermarket with carts and barricade tapes blocking certain aisles. #covid
• #RiodeJaneiro's mayor #EduardoPaes is going for a new #lockdown, and now his order says that bars and restaurants must be closed after 5pm. The association of this kind of business predicts 1 thousand people will be losing their jobs for every week they are closed.
• “ESSENTIAL SERVICE IS ANY ONE THAT'S NEEDED FOR THE BREADWINNER OF THE FAMILY TO PUT FOOD ON THE TABLE!” President #Bolsonaro on #Twitter.
• The Dept (Ministry) of Education sent a letter to universities saying that political manifestations by professors will result in notifications and can lead to punishments. In response, 25 regional attorneys offices sent a letter to the Citizen Rights' Attorneys Office asking it to reinforce and clarify the need to respect #freedomofexpression, even inside educational institutions and when expressed by faculty members.
• The #COVID relief bill was approved by the #Senate, and if the spending doesn't surpass 44 billion reals, it won't be subjected to strict fiscal rules. On the other hand, the gov't was able to add new fiscal regulations for future general spending in this bill. Apparently, the strategy was, “here's 44 billion for you to make your party, as long as this is the last one.” Will it work?
• Last year, #Bolsonaro's first reaction to the news of cities and states and companies forcing the vaccination was, “MANDATORY VACCINATION, ONLY OVER MY DEAD BODY!” Now, the gov't is buying a lot of vaccine doses, and it won't take longer until there are enough vaccines for the whole population. Will Bolsonaro still do anything to prevent people from being forced to take the vaccine? #covid
• The Attorneys Office of the State of #Goias issued a letter saying that they are for the use of #hydroxychloroquine and #ivermectin for #COVID prevention. Attorneys Offices have been criticized for not expressing or taking too long to express their position regarding this and governors' and mayors' #abuseofpower by sending the police to arrest law-abiding citizens and to shut down businesses.
• #SaoPaulo governor #Doria ordered 14 more days of lockdown. His #COVID Contingency Center secretary said that it should be “at least” that number. São Paulo's secretary of health, on the other hand, is not in agreement with Dória's decision and said, “WITH THE LOCKDOWN, PEOPLE WILL DIE OF HUNGER.” In #Bahia, the governor extended the lockdown (and curfew) till April 1st. Regarding to new and to the extending of lockdowns and curfews, #Bolsonaro said, “IF I HAVE THE POWER TO DECIDE, I HAVE MY OWN PLAN AND IT'S READY TO BE PUT IN PLACE, BUT I NEED TO HAVE THIS AUTHORITY. [...] IF THE #SUPREMECOURT (#STF) UNDERSTANDS THAT THE MANAGEMENT OF THIS CAN FALL INTO THE GOV'T'S HANDS, [...] I AM READY TO PUT MY PLAN IN PLACE.” Curiously (and tragically), São Paulo is not increasing the quantity of buses, and train and subway cars in order to allow for proper social distancing.
• #Brazil's GDP fell 4.1% during the #pandemic, being the most negative since 1996. The result, though, was better than what the #IPEA predicted (5%), #XPInvestments predicted (6%), the #OECD predicted (6%), and the #IMF predicted (9.1%). Compared to some other countries, Brazil did worse than the #UnitedStates (3.5%), for instance, but less worse than #Japan (4.8%), #Germany (5%), #France (8.2%), the #UnitedKingdom (9.9%), and #Spain (11%). Considering that Brazil has quite a precarious health system, that the #SupremeCourt (#STF) granted the states power to put health measures in place regardless of the gov't'l recommendations—thus leading many states and cities to go for lockdowns—and that many mayors and governors have been antagonizing the president by just doing to opposite in order to wear off #Bolsonaro's image, it did not do that bad. A poll by the media company #JovemPan asking who was the main responsible for this GDP fall—and got 35 thousand votes—shows that 96.8% believe it was mayors' and governors'. #covid #coronavirus
• Leftist comedian #DaniloGentili wrote in a tweet, “I WOULD ONLY BELIEVE THIS COUNTRY CAN BE SAVED IF THE POPULATION GOT INTO THE CONGRESS RIGHT NOW AND PUNCHED EVERY CONGRESSPERSON THAT'S DISCUSSING [IN FAVOR OF] THE [SPEECH] IMMUNITY BILL.” Some congresspeople, seeing the chance to put the #SupremeCourt (#STF) on the wall due to its decision to arrest Congressperson #DanielSilveira for a #thoughtcrime, are demanding the STF orders Gentili's arrest. Judge-minister #AlexandredeMoraes, who alone decided for Silveira's arrest, asked the Attorney-General #AugustoAras (appointed by #Bolsonaro) for his word on this matter. Moraes might be trying to dilute his responsibility and raise animosity in Congress, since Aras' support for Gentili's arrest will please some groups in Congress and angry others, and if he goes against it, it will please and anger opposite sides.
• A police commissioner who cooperated with the #LavaJato operation was processed and eventually punished when he denounced that some of the Lava Jato investigative tactics were illegal. This commissioner, #MarioFanton, accused the operation of illegally wiretapping and of covering another Lava Jato commissioner, ErikaMarena, who forged a testimony. Marena is one of the responsibles for ordering the illegal wiretappings. And, #DeltanDallagnol, impressed and excited with the popularity #LavaJato commissioners and prosecutors were having, started discussing opening a company to make money giving lectures. In one of the leaked messages he wrote, “LET'S ORGANIZE CONFERENCES AND EVENTS, OK? THIS IS A GOOD WAY TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR NETWORKING AND VISIBILITY.” [...] “BEFORE TAKING STEPS TO OPEN THIS COMPANY, WE SHOULD HAVE A BUSINESS PLAN AND A CLEAR VIEW OF EACH ONE'S EXPECTATIONS. FOR THE BUSINESS PLAN, WE SHOULD LOOK UP FOR THE LATEST EVENTS AND PRICES.” In another part, he explains that they'd better set up their company as an NGO institution and have a professional company organize the events and charge for the lectures, so they could receive the money in a different way, thus avoiding legal questionings and the negative repercussion with the public.

LAVA JATO OPERATION PROSECUTORS—IN HOT WATERS

A couple of years before #Bolsonaro became president, he was caught fishing in a place he wasn't supposed to. Messages exchanged by #LavaJato prosecutors and that have been leaked recently, shows that one prosecutor, #MoniqueCheker, after realizing Bolsonaro couldn't be prosecuted for environmental damages due to the fact that he only caught a couple of fish, texted that she knew a professor from the State University of #RiodeJaneiro that could write a report blaming Bolsonaro for some different kind of environmental issue. Another prosecutor said that Bolsonaro would not be convicted of any crime by a lower court, and then Monique wrote that if the process go to the #SupremeCourt (#STF), he would be convicted. Other parts show prosecutors calling Bolsonaro names and saying he had fascist and sexist ideals. At another text, she says, “OUR SELF-SACRIFICE IN THE NAME OF THE 'PLURALITY OF IDEAS' HAVE ALREADY COST US [TO LOSE] SOME [DEPARTMENTS]. THE DPU [federal prosecutors office], THE #PF [federal police]; I THINK THAT'S ENOUGH. I DON'T WANT THAT.” At another part, on a different topic, while discussing the need of #SergioMoro to distance himself from Bolsonaro in 2019, #DeltanDallagnol said, “THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IS TO DISTANCE HIMSELF FROM BOZO—IN ORDER TO GET CLOSER TO JOURNALISTS—BUT WITHOUT LOSING SUPPORT OF BOZO'S SUPPORTERS ['Bozo' was the left's favorite way to refer to Bolsonaro]. In another part, #Moro, already serving as the Minister of Justice—so he was no longer part of Lava Jato—texts Dallagnol, who was still a prosecutor in Lava Jato, “I'M GOING TO BE IN #DAVOS DURING THE WEEK. COULD YOU TELL ME SUCCINTLY WHICH COUNTRIES WE ARE STILL FACING COOPERATION DIFFICULTIES WITH? DID #HONGKONG PROVIDE YOU WITH THOSE EVIDENCES? PLEASE, FIND THAT OUT AND LET ME KNOW.” According to journalist #OswaldoEustaquio, PTB's party president, #RobertoJefferson, and the recently arrested Congressman #DanielSilveira received copies of the Lava Jato conversations leaks. #Silveira was arrested a couple of days before the date he had planned to exposed them. Jefferson received the leaks back in December, but even with his constant and widely view interviews, he never exposed them, and many people are wondering why he didn't. Many are also wondering why Eustáquio didn't expose them earlier either.

• A video of a street vendor being approach by the military police and being put into the trunk of a police car Thursday night in #Bahia went viral. He was not supposed to be out at that time due to the #curfew. He said he lost the last bus and no more buses had come since then. At a certain moment, one of the officers forcibly approaches him and puts him in the trunk of the police vehicle while the vendor says, “DON'T HURT ME!” What's shocking about the video is that the officer's approach is nearly the same as if approaching a criminal, which very much makes you believe the guy is a criminal (if you didn't know the context). Another thing that worries is the fact that another officer, when he realizes there's someone recording it, approaches the person and says, “IF THIS GENTLEMAN IS BEING FILMED [BY YOU] YOU'RE GOING TO BE A WITNESS. COME ON [WITH US].” #covid #covid19 #coronavirus #abuseofpower
• The #Senate approved a bill that authorizes private companies to buy vaccines. It's now headed to the #Congress. If it passes, President #Bolsonaro may veto it because the bill removes the responsibility for side effects of the #vaccine from the makers and put it in the government. #covid #covid19 #coronavirus
• Some residents of the city of #Araraquara in the State of #SaoPaulo, which is under a full #lockdown period, have reported some food shortage and some price hike. #covid #covid19 #coronavirus #brazil
• Keeping the annoying and uncalled-for habit of giving interviews nonstop, one of the judge-ministers of the #SupremeCourt (#STF), #EdsonFachin, listed the seven symptoms of a corrupt democracy during an interview for the leftist, liberal, progressive, #FolhadeSaoPaulo (#Folha). They are [with comments], “REMILITARIZATION OF A CIVIL GOVERNMENT” [the military regime was the most stable and orderly period #Brazil had ever experienced in a long time, failed by the 'positivist' mindset and old-anti-#communism combat tactics, while the “civil” government that started in 1988 never made the country any better, so this argument per se doesn't say much], “INTIMIDATION [BY CALLS TO SHUT DOWN THE OTHER POWERS—#CONGRESS, #SENATE, AND #STF” [there was never a direct call to shut them down, but to the possibility of them being shut down due to their unconstitutional behavior, and since #Bolsonaro was elected, no actual attempt has been made and no plan to do so has ever been exposed], “MINIMIZATION OF THE VALUE OF VOTING” [the judge-ministers have been reacting positively to making the voting process even more digital, like voting by phone, which makes it even more prone to fraud, while #Bolsonaro, his allies, and his supporters support the opposite, walking toward more auditability, even if it means partially using paper], “ATTACKS AGAINST THE FREEDOM OF THE PRESS” [it was the STF who censored a news outlet back on 2019, who ordered the arrest of a journalist twice in 2019 and 2020, who ordered the conservative site #TercaLivre to be mass suspended on social media platforms in 2021, who ordered the arrest of a congressman for a thought crime and also demanded all his social media accounts to be suspended in 2021; no such restricting actions were ever taken by the President #Bolsonaro; the most he has done was to harshly criticize the big old media, call them corrupt, unfair, evil, disgraceful], “ENCOURAGEMENT OF THE SALES OF WEAPONS AND THUS OF VIOLENCE” [violence in Brazil increased after the gun ban in 2005, and since #Bolsonaro was elected and a few of his pro-guns decrees passed, along with other measures, violence has decreased; also, violence numbers in countries were fire weapons are allowed don't support the judge-minister's reasoning], “NORMALIZING ADMINISTRATIVE AGENTS' CORRUPTION” [one of his administration's hallmark is the nearly total elimination of corruption, at least at the highest level] and “REFUSAL TO ACCEPT ELECTION RESULTS” [the president never refused to accept the elections' results, but expressed that if the vote can't be audited, fraud is possible].
• The tax over imported #fireweapons was going to be zero this year, but the judge-minister of the #SupremeCourt (#STF) #EdsonFachin issued an injunction order halting the decree. Another judge-minister commented that zeroing the tax and thus increasing the sales of fire weapons in #Brazil is a “RISK FOR THE STABILITY OF DEMOCRACY.” Once again, the STF ruling over things it shouldn't. #guns #gunsales #gunban #disarmament #selfdefense #fachin
• As of February 26th, the states that were imposing the lockdown were #Bahia, #DistritoFederal, #Maranhao, #Paraiba, #Pernambuco, #Piaui, #RioGrandedoSul, #Rondonia, and #SaoPaulo. Aside from the lockdown, these states' governors have another thing in common: They strongly oppose #Bolsonaro. #covid #covid19 #coronavirus
• During a speech and while he was talking about the stronger #lockdown measures imposed by some governors, President #Bolsonaro said, “THE RELIEF CHECK WILL BE COMING FOR A COUPLE MORE MONTHS. THE GOVERNOR THAT DESTROYS JOBS SHOULD PAY FOR THE RELIEF CHECK. [...] THOSE WHO CLOSE EVERYTHING AND DESTROY JOBS ARE GOING AGAINST THE WISH OF THEIR PEOPLE.” #covid #covid19 #coronavirus
• Writer and philosopher #OlavodeCarvalho is in hospital in the US with #pneumonia.
• Leaked messages exchanged by #LavaJato Operation prosecutors show that they had illegal access to the President #Bolsonaro family's personal information, including fiscal, right after he was elected. They laugh in several moments. The data was accessed by the COAF ('Council for Financial Activities Control') and the MP ('Public Ministry' or 'Prosecution Office'). #RobertoLeonel was in control of the COAF back then, he was assigned by #SergioMoro, and the latter got very upset when COAF was taken out of the control of his ministry by President Bolsonaro. #Leonel is behind the leaks from COAF, and he is referred in one of the messages by one prosecutor as “HE IS 1000.” 'To be 1000' is an expression that means a person helped someone else greatly; it's like saying, “He was so helpful that saying he was 100% helpful is not enough. Maybe 1000%?” #carwash #deltandallagnol #moro
• The city of #Buzios, in the State of #RiodeJaneiro, reached zero hospitalizations for #COVID. They bet strongly on prevention, not withholding themselves from making use of several medications that can possibly help avoid cases from getting too serious, like #ivermectin #hydroxychloroquine, vitamin D, zinc, etc. This example contrasts with other cities, where the number of too serious cases surpassed the number of hospital rooms. #covid19 #coronavirus
• Some #Brazil(ian) states and some cities in some states are going for a #curfew in order to stop or slow down the spread of the virus. According to the #Constitution, the curfew can only be allowed in two situations: State of Defense and State of Emergency. The State of Defense allows for the curfew in isolated areas, as long as there is a social unrest or a natural disaster that's big enough to result in lack of control by the local authorities. It can last 30 days and be extended for 30 more days. If the lack of control persists, then the State of Emergency is the next step. In this case, it allows for the curfew to be extended to areas where everything is apparently calm, and several constitutional rights are suspended, but in order for a curfew to start, the president (not a mayor or a governor) needs the #Congress' approval—this is to show you how extreme a curfew is. Beyond this point, the military intervention is the call. The virus and the rulings it has caused to be issued have resulted in all the rules regarding curfews being broken, in cities and states making decisions about putting it in place regardless of the government's direction. In other words, mayors and governors are breaking the Constitution, paving the way for a federal intervention; but, will there be? And, how long will unconstitutional actions continue to be taken for? #covid #covid19 #coronavirus
• The #Congress is discussing a bill called [Speech] Immunity Bill. It has the purpose of clarifying where the limit of the #SupremeCourt (#STF) is when it comes to its power to warrant the arrest of a congressperson for a thought crime. In its original form, the bill made it clear only the Congress Ethical Counsel could apply a punishment, but some parties, like #PT, leftist, is critical of the bill for totally leaving the judiciary out of it. At least one congressman, the infamous and often ridiculed #KimKataguiri (another politician who did a great job pre-#Bolsonaro, campaigned for him and was elected in great part because of him, but ultimately flipped 180°), came to the point of asking the STF to interfere in the Congress' affairs by ordering that this bill be prohibited from even being discussed, and one judge-minister was already chosen to analyze this possibility. #freedomofspeech

• The #Congress plans to start discussing in the next weeks changing the #Brazil(ian) electoral system. The discussion will be about adopting the American system. As is, a councilor or a local representative can live in place A, campaign for people who live in place B, and work for people in place C. Also, candidates who receives insufficient votes, even 1 single vote, can be elected if they're chosen by their party and the party has accumulated enough votes to transfer the excess. To make things even worse, the list of candidates the party chooses to receive the excess of votes is open, meaning the party can pick a name AFTER the votes are counted. Believe it or not, that's how it works in Brazil. Since this electoral system started, in 1988, more than 85% or all councilors and state and federal representatives were elected indirectly.
• In #Brazil, there is this national association for lawyers and attorneys called #OAB, Brazilian Attorneys-Lawyers Association, and in one post where the association asks for recently graduated attorneys and lawyers (up to 5 years) to attend a commission, you can see the image of a man fixing his LGBT-colored tie and the title “ADVOGADX INICIANTE, PARTICIPE DA SUA COMISSÃO” ('NEW ATTORNEY-LAWYER, ATTEND YOUR COMMISSION') where the first word is the gender neutral form of ADVOGADO (male attorney/lawyer) and of ADVOGADA (female). Every single attorney-lawyer has to be a member of OAB if they want to be able to practice their profession, just so you have an idea of the outreach and power this association has.
• Although #OperationCarWash was very important for #Brazil to get rid of the left (that was in power), there are some things about the operation that raise questions about the legality of the whole operation, especially since the main member of the operation, #SergioMoro, started messing up by saying #Bolsonaro used to interfere in his work in the #DepartmentofJustice (#MinistryofJustice), more specifically, interfere in the #FederalPolice's (the #Feds) freedom to act, saying during his resignation press conference he had proof of it but never presented it, and since then turning himself into a political enemy. One of the things about #CarWash that has called the attention is the amount of data collected by the operation, reaching 350 terabytes, while the Public Prosecutors Office involved in it has had access to only 40. Attorney General #AugustoAras requested access to the rest of the data, but another important member of the operation, #DeltanDallagnol, asked the #SupremeCourt's (#STF) to deny access. #moro #lavajato
• #SaoPaulo Governor #Doria is feeling the heat because of his unbridled political aggressiveness towards the #Bolsonaro administration, allies, and even simple citizens, like journalists, and, after some recent and fierce disagreements with big names in his party, the #PSDB, him leaving it is starting to get unavoidable. The reason behind this conflict is the fact that the PSDB, even though it's definitely not a Bolsonaro ally, is not willing to take on Dória's aggressive political antagonism.
• The #Brazil(ian) #SupremeCourt (#STF) put down #Bolsonaro's vetoes on the mandatory use of masks in schools. One more time, the STF ruling on what it shouldn't, just to antagonize the president. You see, back in 2020, the STF ruled that states and cities should be responsible for what anti#COVID19 measures they take and how they are applied, including the #lockdown, but now each school can't decided over mandating or not, or partially mandating the use of masks.
• The congressman #FilipeBarros wrote a law bill that removes the absolute power of the Electoral Supreme Court (#STE) to create, change, and remove election rules. The law bill proposes that this becomes the #HouseofRepresentatives' (#LowerHouse #Congress) responsibility. It's already clear that the #SupremeCourt (#STF) is working against the #Bolsonaro administration by ruling about things they shouldn't be ruling, and STF Judge #AlexandreBarroso revealed last year his excitement about the implementation of the vote by phone. If an app happens to be unveiled and the STF rules it will be the means to vote, there will be nothing Bolsonaro or the Houses can do. This law bill is from last year, but the previous chair of the Congress wouldn't even put it to vote, but now that the chair is more aligned with the president and the chair of the commission that analyzes the constitutionality of law bills is a strong Bolsonaro ally, this law bill is sure to go a vote.
• As has become much more usual in #Brazil after #Bolsonaro was elected, some of the #SupremeCourt (also called #STF) judges keep giving interviews, and in Judge #AlexandreBarroso's latest interview, he said, DO YOU THINK #VENEZUELA IS CONSERVATIVE? I DEFINITELY THINK SO, EVER SINCE #HUGOCHAVEZ. IN MY OPINION, THAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN A RIGHTWING TYRANNY WITH A DISGUISED RHETORIC. PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T LIVE DURING THE #DICTATORSHIP [it was a #militaryregime, actually] ARE INFLUENCED BY THE RHETORIC OF THOSE WHO MISS A TIME THAT DIDN'T EXIST [one can romanticize about a time they didn't live, but not miss it, or the judge is just dismissing the opinion of those who lived back then, which is vastly positive]. THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO LOST FAITH IN BRAZIL AND MISS WHAT DIDN'T HAPPEN. He also said that it's necessary to DEMYSTIFY FETISHES about the past. In that past, crime was lower, individuals had more freedom, families more power, and development was higher. Are these fetishes to one of our highest level judges?
• The number is still small, but teachers in private schools in #Brazil are already experimenting pushing for the use of #genderneutral words. For instance, 'thank you' is 'obrigado' when said by a man and 'obrigada' when said by a woman. Its gender neutral is 'obrigade.' Most parents and students are reacting negatively and have been demanding explanations.