The world press reflects the drop in US sanctions against Moraes

• Clash between the powers: The alternative to dismissal for absences would lead to an impasse on Zambelli’s term until 2026
• Repercussion: Planalto believes that the lifting of sanctions against Moraes is the result of the dialogue between Lula and Trump

The Financial Times called the move “the latest step taken by Washington to rebuild bridges with Brazil.” The British newspaper recalled that Moraes was the magistrate who oversaw the trial of former President Jair Bolsonaro, convicted of attempted coup, and highlighted that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva “rejected pressure” from the United States to intervene in the process, defending the independence of the judiciary.

The FT also cited MP Eduardo Bolsonaro’s work in the US to try to facilitate sanctions, noting that the parliamentarian received the news “with regret”.

The interpretation of the rapprochement was even more explicit in the Associated Press (AP), which declared that the decision “represents a thaw, to some extent, in the cold relationship between the two governments.”

The agency stressed that this withdrawal occurred after telephone conversations between Trump and Lula and in the context of easing customs duties imposed on Brazilian products – measures initially used as political pressure during Bolsonaro’s trial. The AP also drew parallels between the Brazilian case and charges against Trump after the 2021 Capitol invasion.

In the same vein, Reuters pointed out that this turnaround, less than five months after the imposition of sanctions, highlights the rapid warming of relations between Trump and Lula after a period of confrontation. The agency recalled that the sanctions were justified by US accusations of “using the judiciary as a weapon”, arbitrary arrests and suppression of freedom of expression – allegations now dropped with the removal of Moraes’ name from the list. According to Reuters, Lula personally asked Trump to lift the sanctions, without offering any compensation.

The Washington Post highlighted the negative nature of the pressure campaign carried out by the Trump administration in Brazil. The newspaper reports that the decision was attributed, in a joint memo from the Treasury and the State Department, to the assessment that maintaining sanctions would be “incompatible with U.S. foreign policy interests.”

The publication also mentions the support of the American government for the approval, by the Chamber of Deputies, of an amnesty project which could cancel sanctions linked to undemocratic acts in 2023.

Bloomberg directly linked the end of sanctions to U.S. tariff relief for Brazilian exports, recalling that Trump raised tariffs with the stated aim of helping Bolsonaro avoid a lawsuit.

For the agency, the removal of Moraes’ name puts an end to a chapter of economic and judicial pressure that marked the bilateral relationship during the second half of the year.

The Magnitsky Act, created in 2012 during the Barack Obama administration, is one of the harshest US instruments to punish foreigners accused of human rights violations or corruption. The sanctions against Moraes were imposed in July, at the height of American pressure following the trial of Bolsonaro, sentenced in September to 27 years and three months in prison.