One of the questions I hear most from friends and family during these holidays is, “What’s the goal?”
They want to understand what the press wants when it announces that Minister Alexandre de Moraes would have put pressure on the Central Bank in favor of Banco Master. The answer is not complicated. What the press wants is to make public what circulates in the corridors of power.
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Embedded in this question: “what is the goal?” » — it is assumed that we serve one side in the political struggle. This is not what makes us happy one day after another. Honestly, the excitement at work is being the first to make something public. To the public. The best part is being able to explain more clearly how Brazil or the world works. Be useful – and be read to be useful. From a personal point of view, it is the motivation of each of us. But in the democratic apparatus, the press plays a fundamental role. She does not judge, she does not condemn. Alert. It reveals to society what those in power wish to keep secret. Journalism exists to turn on the siren and signal: there is a problem here. It is necessary to formally investigate.
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Journalism does not have the tools necessary for state investigations – breach of confidentiality, search warrants and all the rest. The tools available to each journalist are those given by the democratic Constitutions to each citizen. The right to ask questions and hear the answers. Tour the palaces of the three Powers and see what’s going on. So tell everyone. Citizens must work, they cannot spend mornings, afternoons, nights or even early mornings in palaces, bearing witness to what those in power are doing. Trying to understand relationships, agreements. Cheaters. This is why democracies need journalism. Democracies cannot be sustainable without someone providing this service. This is the role of the press.
It is the nature of power that powerful people are tempted to take advantage of possibilities opened up by their own name or signature. The press is the instrument society has to reveal when this is happening. Sometimes the press provides evidence. For others, no: the evidence arrives after the alert, with the investigation carried out by prosecutors or the police.
The press actively reported on Operation Lava-Jato. Petrobras’ billion-dollar embezzlement was not an illusion. It was stolen. Very. The same press turned its attention to Judge Sergio Moro when leaked conversations made it clear that he had promiscuous relationships with prosecutors. A judge is not obligated to help a party in a case. The same journalists spoke about the corruption of the Bolsonaro family. They denounced Bolsonaro’s attacks on society during the pandemic. They demonstrated what an attempted military coup looked like. And now they reveal that two STF ministers, Dias Toffoli and Alexandre de Moraes, are close to the Banco Master file. It’s a problem. A giant problem. At the very least, they must be excluded from any lawsuit involving the dissolution of the bank.
The press attack machine of part of left-wing activism has been dormant since the election of Jair Bolsonaro. He was reconnected against Malu Gaspar, GLOBO columnist. There was no way to say anything given the revelation that Moraes’ wife had signed a contract with no specific target worth around 130 million reais with Master. So he decided to pounce when she revealed that those close to him saw the minister putting pressure on B.C.
The information she provided was confirmed by Eliane Cantanhêde and David Friedlander, at Estado de S. Paulo, and by Mônica Bergamo, at Folha de S.Paulo. In a way, this was also confirmed by Daniela Lima, from UOL. Daniela claims, however, that according to her sources, there was no pressure. Just mention it. Game played. Different sources may have different perceptions. Because five of the most experienced journalists covering politics and economics in Brazil heard almost identical versions of the same story. Of the five, four learned that Moraes had crossed the line. And a lot. According to Mônica, the pressure was not only directed against the BC, but also against the Federal Police.
This appears to be a sign of how the 2026 election will be covered. Here, in the editorial offices, we will be continually attacked by the Bolsonarist machine and the most aggressive part of the left. The left doesn’t like to be compared. But the methods are the same. The incomprehension that a free press will always be on the heels of those in power, and that this is desirable, ditto.
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