In an alarming turn for the institutional stability of Brazil and the region, former president Jair Bolsonaro was placed under house arrest by order of Judge Alexandre de Moraes, in a move that caused strong international condemnation and renewed allegations of political persecution. The measure, based on alleged violations of previous restrictions, was described by experts and world leaders as an unprecedented abuse of power in the country's recent democratic history.
The event triggered a wave of immediate reactions, starting with his son, Congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro, who issued an urgent message to the international community: "Brazil crossed the line. Bolsonaro was arrested not for a crime, not for corruption, but for greeting protesters from his home. Brazil is no longer a democracy. We live under a judicial dictatorship disguised as justice. The regime panicked. Do not remain silent."
Eduardo Bolsonaro publicly urged Argentina and the rest of the OAS member countries to consider activating the Inter-American Democratic Clause, provided for in the organization's Democratic Charter. The request is based on the arbitrary detention of Jair Bolsonaro without prior conviction, which, according to the legislator, constitutes a breach of the constitutional order in Brazil.
If this clause is activated, the Organization of American States could initiate a formal process to assess the Brazilian institutional situation, enabling mechanisms such as the deployment of international observers, the issuance of reform recommendations, and, in serious cases, the suspension of Brazil from the continental body for violations of democratic principles.
Meanwhile, support is growing in Europe. The European Union, through allied parliamentarians from the conservative bloc, formally requested its member states to join the sanctions promoted by the United States against Alexandre de Moraes, accusing him of undermining essential rights and due process. Transatlantic coordination in denouncing the excesses of the Supreme Federal Court could mark a diplomatic turning point and lay the groundwork for a coordinated international response to the authoritarian advance of the Brazilian judicial system.
The most forceful response came from Washington. Through its Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, the State Department condemned the decision of the Supreme Federal Court and accused Judge Moraes of being a "direct threat to democracy." "Let Bolsonaro speak," was the direct message disseminated by the bureau, alluding to the restrictions preventing the former president from expressing himself publicly.
Judge Alexandre de Moraes had already been sanctioned by the U.S. under the Magnitsky Act, a legal tool that allows for the punishment of foreign nationals involved in corruption or human rights violations. Attention now focuses on Viviane Barci de Moraes, the judge's wife, identified by Eduardo Bolsonaro as "the financial arm" of her husband.
