(Analysis) Silas Malafaia, a towering figure in Brazils evangelical movement, has escalated his war of words against Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, labeling him a dictator and terrorist-like threat ahead of a rally with ex-President Jair Bolsonaro on Copacabana Beach.The event, held Sunday, aimed to pressure lawmakers for amnesty for January 8, 2023, rioters.
Hes overstepping all our lawsa political persecution like never before, Malafaia declared, amplifying a narrative thats reverberated across his vast media empire and rallied Bolsonaros base.What sets this moment apart is Malafaias stature.
For decades, Brazils elitepoliticians, tycoons, even religious leadersapproached the judiciary, particularly the Supreme Court, with caution.Malafaias Bold Challenge to MoraesMalafaias brazen challenge to Moraes signals a seismic shift.
As leader of the Assembleia de Deus Vitria em Cristo, he commands millions of followers.
This is bolstered by a YouTube audience of over 1.5 million and a history of mobilizing massive crowds500,000 at 2022s Marcha para Jesus in So Paulo alone.His influence helped catapult Bolsonaro to power in 2018, tapping into Brazils 60 million evangelicals, nearly a third of the population.
Now, hes leveraging that clout to cast Moraes as a tyrant, reaching not just Brazil but global conservative networks.Power Evangelist Malafaia Slams Moraes as Dictator, Igniting Brazil Power Clash.
(Photo Internet reproduction)Malafaias accusations arent newhes called Moraes a dictator since 2023, alleging collusion with President Lulas governmentbut their intensity is.
At Copacabana, he boasted the left couldnt muster half his crowd, a nod to past rallies drawing up to 125,000.Earlier, he told Rios evangelical council he leaves Moraes in Gods hands, yet warned in 2023 that the justices house would fall via divine or public will.
Senator Flvio Bolsonaro echoed this, decrying Alexandrismo and Moraes vengeance against January 8 convicts.A Battle Over Power, Politics, and the JudiciaryMoraes, a former So Paulo security chief and Temer appointee to the Supreme Court in 2017, is a polarizing figure.
Critics like Malafaia spotlight his early career allegedly defending the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), a powerful crime syndicate.
They brand him a hypocrite for now persecuting conservatives.As a justice, Moraes has led probes into fake news and the 2023 riots, issuing arrests and platform bansmoves defenders say protect democracy, but Malafaia deems authoritarian.
His 2022 Telegram suspension fueled censorship cries, deepening the divide.Malafaias defiance transcends rhetoric.
Hes funded rallies with hundreds of thousands of reais, claiming in 2022 that Moraes wouldnt dare arrest him.
He argued that doing so would provoke an evangelical hornets nest.This emboldens allies like Governor Tarcsio de Freitas, who criticized government spending at the rally, and Flvio Bolsonaro, pushing amnesty.
For Brazil, Malafaias crusaderooted in Moraes past and judicial reachmarks a reckoning.A man of his power is no longer whispering dissent; hes shouting it.
He is forcing a nation to confront the judiciarys limits and the evangelical heartlands might.