The decision of the United States government to suspend, this Friday (12/12), the sanctions imposed on the Minister of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Alexandre de Moraes, on the basis of the global Magnitsky law, had wide repercussions in the international press.
Media such as the Washington Post, the Financial Times, The Guardian, Bloomberg and the EFE agency highlighted Washington’s withdrawal and associated it with a diplomatic rapprochement between the governments of Donald Trump and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), after months of bilateral tensions.
The Washington Post called the measure a “significant step back” from the Trump administration’s pressure campaign on Brazil. According to the newspaper, the sanctions were imposed four months ago, under the pretext that the case against former President Jair Bolsonaro constituted a “witch hunt”.
According to the Post, this turnaround came after a direct diplomatic offensive by Lula, including a phone call with Trump on December 2. During the conversation, the Brazilian president argued that Moraes could not be punished for defending the Constitution.
The revocation was celebrated by the Brazilian government and Moraes’ supporters, but was criticized by MP Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL-SP), son of former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL), who said he welcomed the decision “with regret.”
In a joint statement, the U.S. Treasury and State Department said maintaining sanctions was “incompatible with U.S. foreign policy interests.”
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Effect of PL dosimetry and economic issues
The Spanish agency EFE highlighted that the decision came days after the Chamber of Deputies approved the Dosimetry Bill (PL) which could reduce the sentence of Bolsonaro, sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison for attempted coup d’état after the 2022 elections. The vote was publicly welcomed by the American authorities.
For the Financial Times, the lifting of sanctions helps to unblock the process of normalization of relations between Washington and Brasilia, shaken since the start of the year by political and commercial disputes.
The Guardian interpreted the move as a serious political setback for Bolsonaro and his son Eduardo, who even moved to the United States to press for punitive measures against Brazil.
Bloomberg highlighted the economic bias of the decision, pointing out that the lifting of sanctions comes after Trump eased tariffs on Brazilian exports considered strategic.
US withdraws sanctions against Moraes
The United States government announced Friday the reversal of sanctions imposed on Alexandre de Moraes, his wife, Viviane Barci de Moraes, and the family business Lex Instituto de Estudos Jurídicas.
The sanctions were imposed under the Magnitsky Act after threats from the Trump administration, prompted by Moraes’ role as rapporteur of the action that investigated the coup attempt and resulted in the conviction of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and his allies.
Moraes was sanctioned on July 30. Viviane and the family business joined the sanctions list in September.
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