The parallel cabinet of Minister Alexandre de Moraes celebrated the election of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2022, reveal leaked messages from the ‘Vaza Toga’ operation. The group, which included representatives from the Institute Democracy in Check — a partner that monitored social media for the TSE and STF — expressed enthusiasm for the electoral outcome, interpreted as a victory in the fight against disinformation.
The messages indicate that members of the cabinet were working to direct actions against Lula’s political opponents on social networks, seeking to control and censor digital platforms and profiles contrary to the group’s alignment. The coordination included strategies to block the social network Gettr in Brazil, motivated by the perception that the platform housed content considered problematic for them.
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These episodes are part of a clandestine and illegal mechanism within the Federal Supreme Court (STF) and the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), under the presidency of Moraes in 2022, characterized by coordinated actions to neutralize opponents and ensure control of the electoral narrative in favor of Lula.
The revelation of the messages, which make up the series ‘Vaza Toga’, has generated debates about the limits of judicial action and the impact of these groups on the democratic process and freedom of expression in Brazil.
So far, the competent Brazilian authorities have not sought to initiate investigations into all the evidence presented and are turning a blind eye. The information was disclosed by Oeste.The exchanged messages show that Fabiano Garrido, from Democracy in Check, congratulated the Electoral Court for its ‘tireless work in defense of democracy’.
In response, Marco Antônio Vargas, then assistant judge to Alexandre de Moraes, wrote: “Thank you very much for your work, without which we would not be able to overcome the misinformation.” Subsequently, Vitor de Andrade Monteiro, at the time an international affairs advisor to the Secretary-General of the TSE Presidency, sent a similar message: “Thank you very much for all the support in this task that is so difficult, which is to combat misinformation.”
The last message was from Beto Vasques, from Democracy in Check: “Long live the Electoral Justice. Long live Democracy. Long live the sovereign people. Long live Brazil.”An hour later, Beto Vasques published an extraordinary bulletin about Lula’s victory. In the message, he stated that voters for the leftist candidate and supporters of the “broad front for democracy” were celebrating the result. He also highlighted that media outlets considered right-leaning at the time, such as O Antagonista and Jovem Pan, were already reporting on the election. Finally, he said that “heads of the far right” remained silent and ended the message with: “Long live democracy!”.
