For more than two weeks, Brazilians have been without access to X. Brazil\u2019s Supreme Court blocked the platform after Elon Musk failed to comply with court rulings. As X evades the ban and Musk\u2019s companies work slowly toward a resolution, the real concern for many isn\u2019t just the absence of social media. It\u2019s Musk\u2019s power play over the government as he backs Brazil\u2019s far right.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
X was banned on August 30th<\/a> after months of back-and-forth between Musk and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. The conflict began in April<\/a> when Musk publicized government requests for information and then removed all restrictions imposed on X profiles by Brazilian court orders. Moraes responded by including Musk in an investigation over organized political disinformation and subpoenaing X\u2019s Brazilian legal representative. Musk abruptly shuttered its local operations, leading Moraes to ban it for violating local laws.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Since then, negotiations between both sides have proceeded gradually. The Supreme Court announced a transfer of R$ 18.3 million from X and Starlink to the national treasury, indirectly paying a fine for not removing content. Moraes subsequently ordered the unblocking of both companies\u2019 bank accounts. Musk has reportedly<\/a> met with Vanessa Souza, a Brazilian specialist in cyber law, and he\u2019s appointed a pair of attorneys to represent X in Brazil \u2014 leading Moraes to ask<\/a> if X has reopened operations, which could eventually clear the way for a lifted ban.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n But Musk\u2019s public response has largely been confrontational. In the past couple of weeks, he has criticized the Brazilian Supreme Court\u2019s decision as well as the president, claiming the ban violates free speech and sets a dangerous precedent. He\u2019s rallied public support, primarily from far-right influencers and politicians.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n And this week, some Brazilians briefly got access to X again. According to the Brazilian Association of Internet and Telecommunications Providers (ABRINT), X made a \u201csignificant\u201d update early on September 18th, changing its design to use IP addresses linked to Cloudflare and routing around service providers\u2019 blocks. ABRINT said the update put providers in a \u201cdelicate situation\u201d while regulators attempted to<\/a> get it blocked again. X officially called the ban \u201cinadvertent and temporary,\u201d but Moraes levied extra fines against it<\/a> for what he dubbed \u201cwillful, illegal and persistent\u201d evasion, citing a Musk tweet<\/a> that seemed to celebrate the move.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Musk\u2019s defiance is part of a long flirtation with Brazil\u2019s currently out-of-power far right. \u201cHe is not just an influencer of the far right, he is an activist,\u201d says Camila Rocha, a researcher at the Brazilian Center of Analysis and Planning (CEBRAP) and a political scientist. \u201cThe collaboration, the harmony between what is happening in Brazil and what is on the networks, is huge.\u201d Whatever happens next in the X\u2013Brazil saga, Musk could claim it\u2019s a win.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n A court is potentially clearing the way for X to come back; in the short term, it\u2019s evaded its ban<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Luiz Augusto D\u2019Urso, a lawyer specializing in digital law, describes X\u2019s closing of its Brazilian office as a dramatic gesture that forced Moraes\u2019 hand. \u201cIt\u2019s important to note that the Supreme Court\u2019s initial ruling was never to block the platform. Things escalated,\u201d D\u2019Urso says. \u201cThe last decision before the ban required the platform to appoint a legal representative in Brazil, which is a legal obligation. When Musk refused, the result was suspension.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Musk wasted no time turning the issue into a political spectacle. On August 29th, he referred\u00a0to Justice Moraes as \u201cthe tyrant, @Alexandre, dictator of Brazil\u201d in a post about Starlink\u2019s assets being frozen, saying \u201c[Brazilian President] Lula is his lapdog.\u201d Another post calls Moraes \u201ca declared criminal of the worst kind, disguised as a judge.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Brazil\u2019s right wing has seized the moment, too, framing the X ban as a fight for freedom of speech. Musk has interacted with supporters of the far right using emoji of the Brazilian flag (in context, a symbol of the movement). He supported demonstrations on September 7th, or Brazilian Independence Day, by sharing Jair Bolsonaro-supporting profiles and calling on users to participate, and he posted a photo of himself alongside former President Bolsonaro.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Rocha notes that Musk\u2019s support for Brazil\u2019s far right has been obvious for years. The billionaire has become popular in parts of Brazil thanks to his Starlink satellite internet service<\/a>, which operates across the country and particularly in the Amazon. Starlink also provides services to the Brazilian Armed Forces.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n This activism tallies with his support of right-wing politics globally, including elsewhere in Latin America. Musk has an ongoing friendly relationship with Argentinian President Javier Milei, with whom he\u2019s agreed on \u201cthe importance of technological development for the progress of humanity.\u201d Milei has supported Musk throughout the conflict with the Brazilian Supreme Court, accusing it of wanting to \u201cprohibit the space where citizens exchange ideas freely.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Musk has even (perhaps jokingly) suggested that \u201cwe\u2019ll coup whoever we want\u201d in Latin America, responding to an accusation that the US government intervened against Bolivian President Evo Morales to secure lithium supplies for Tesla.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In Brazil, Musk \u2014 who despite his public commitment to free speech has blocked content at the behest<\/a> of conservative governments \u2014 stands to gain by resolutely supporting Bolsonaro\u2019s far right. \u201cHe presents himself as a defender of freedom, but he is exclusively business-oriented and has no commitment to democracy,\u201d says S\u00e9rgio Soares Braga, a researcher at the National Institute of Science and Technology in Digital Democracy (INCT.DD). The far right offers a clearer path to the \u201cunregulated capitalism\u201d Musk favors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cHe presents himself as a defender of freedom, but he is exclusively business-oriented\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n But Musk\u2019s resistance is also a direct fight over how and whether American tech (and particularly internet) companies can be regulated abroad. An open letter sent on September 17th<\/a>, as translated by The Verge,<\/em> called the ban part of an \u201cevolving global conflict between digital corporations and those seeking to build a democratic, people-centered digital landscape focused on social and economic development.\u201d It accused Musk of sabotaging \u201cand operate against the public sector\u2019s ability to create and maintain an independent digital agenda based on local values, needs and aspirations.\u201d\u00a0The letter was signed by more than 50 intellectuals,\u00a0including economist Mariana Mazzucato and author Cory Doctorow.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cMusk wants to control a wide array of industries, from big tech to electric vehicles, which grants him significant economic power and geopolitical influence,\u201d says Braga. But in Brazil, Braga argues, he\u2019s overstepped his bounds. \u201cHe can\u2019t abuse this power to interfere in a nation\u2019s sovereignty.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Musk is making sacrifices by keeping X offline. Competing social networks have reaped gains from the block \u2014 Bluesky, for instance, says it\u2019s gained<\/a> millions of new users largely from Brazil. \u201cThere are growing suspicions that Musk has ulterior motives,\u201d says Rocha. \u201cWhy would he let X remain offline for so long? What does he stand to gain?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n One potential answer is that Musk doesn\u2019t have much left to lose <\/em>by shrinking Twitter\u2019s base in Brazil. The platform has already reportedly lost at least 71 percent<\/a> of its value since Musk acquired it, and it shows little sign of recovery. (By contrast, Musk\u2019s Starlink eventually caved to demands<\/a> that it block X, though it\u2019s said it\u2019s still pursuing legal action.) It\u2019s more important to take a stand against Brazil\u2019s policies \u2014 not out of idealism, but a pragmatic bid for more control.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n But for D\u2019Urso, Musk\u2019s endgame is clear: he benefits either way. \u201cIf he backs down, he portrays himself as the man who stood up to the Supreme Court. If X remains banned, he becomes a martyr, claiming persecution. It\u2019s a win-win situation for him.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n