Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva addressed the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, where he appeared to defend censorship measures in Brazil, including the recent ban on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
During his speech, Lula touched on various global issues, including the war in Ukraine, Israel's conflict with Hamas, and climate change. Without directly mentioning the X ban, he emphasized the importance of protecting democracy, stating that doing so “implies permanent action against extremist, messianic, and totalitarian attacks that spread hatred, intolerance, and resentment.”
“Brazilians will continue to defeat those who try to undermine institutions and to place them at the service of reactionary interests,” he said. “In a globalized world, it makes no sense to resort to false patriots and isolationists.”
“The future of our region depends, above all, on building a sustainable, efficient, and inclusive State that confronts all forms of discrimination — that is not intimidated by individuals, corporations, or digital platforms that believe they are above the law,” Lula added.
Lula’s comments come after Brazil’s Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes imposed a nationwide ban on X, requiring that users who continue posting face heavy fines. The ban followed a legal battle between de Moraes and X's owner Elon Musk, after the platform refused to hand over documents related to political opponents of Brazil’s leadership. The lack of an in-country representative from X, after employees fled Brazil, was cited as part of the justification for the platform’s shutdown in the country.
Since the ban, a number of protesters in Brazil have taken to the streets demanding the removal of de Morae. A demonstration on Brazil’s Independence Day saw thousands of protesters expressing their discontent with the leading regime’s censorship efforts.
