Brazil’s president says world doesn’t have to put up with Elon Musk’s ‘far right’ ideology just because he’s rich

By CNN Newsource

Published September 3, 2024 9:45 PM

By Juliana Liu, CNN

(CNN) — Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva says the world isn’t obliged to put up with billionaire Elon Musk’s “far-right anything goes” agenda because of his immense wealth.

Lula da Silva made the remarks in an interview with CNN affiliate CNN Brasil published Monday, days after Musk’s social media site X was suspended in the country, making it inaccessible in a major market.

“The Brazilian justice system may have given an important signal that the world is not obliged to put up with Musk’s extreme right-wing anything goes just because he is rich,” the president said.

Lula da Silva’s comments are the latest salvo in a long-running feud with Musk over free speech, far-right accounts and misinformation in the country. Over the weekend, Brazilians, including the president, bid farewell to X, with some posting links to their profiles on other social media platforms.

Brazil is an important market for X, which has struggled with the loss of advertisers since Musk acquired Twitter and renamed the platform last year. Some 40 million Brazilians, roughly one-fifth of the population, access X at least once per month, according to market research group Emarketer.

Access to the platform was blocked after Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered the suspension of X nationwide, because Musk refused to name a legal representative in the country.

The court had previously issued orders to block multiple X accounts as part of the country’s sweeping investigation into the spread of misinformation online and hate speech aimed at undermining the country’s democracy.

Accounts that the platform has previously shut down on Brazilian orders include lawmakers affiliated with former President Jair Bolsonaro’s right-wing party and activists accused of undermining Brazilian democracy.

Musk, a self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist” has repeatedly claimed the court’s actions amount to censorship, and his argument has been echoed by Brazil’s political right.

Musk once again waded into Brazilian politics on Tuesday by sharing a link on X to an upcoming demonstration that bills itself as a march for “freedom, protesting judicial overreach and defending free speech.”

CNN’s Duarte Mendonça contributed reporting.