Brazil’s turbulent history is no stranger to political upheaval. Over the course of its 136-year-old republic, the country has witnessed 14 coup attempts, some of which succeeded—most notoriously, the 1964 military coup that imposed a dictatorship lasting until 1985. But never before had a coup attempt led to the conviction and imprisonment of its leaders and instigators. That changed this year, when a Supreme Court panel ruled that former President Jair Bolsonaro orchestrated the latest coup attempt, landing him and several of his supporters behind bars. At the heart of this unprecedented outcome stands Supreme Court justice Alexandre de Moraes, known to many Brazilians as "Xandão" or "Big Alex."
De Moraes, 56, is a figure who inspires both admiration and ire. Married with three children and instantly recognizable for his bald head and penchant for soccer metaphors, he has become a hero to some and a zealot to others. According to the Associated Press, de Moraes led the five-member Supreme Court panel that sentenced Bolsonaro to 27 years and three months in prison, a move that has reverberated throughout Brazil and beyond. Only one justice, Luiz Fux, dissented, calling for Bolsonaro’s acquittal. The panel also convicted seven of Bolsonaro’s closest allies, including top military officials.
What makes de Moraes such a polarizing figure? For starters, he’s never shied away from confrontation. Over the past year, he’s taken on not just politicians and Bolsonaro supporters—some of whom were implicated in the 2023 riot that damaged government buildings in Brasilia—but also billionaires like Elon Musk. That riot, prosecutors say, was instigated by Bolsonaro himself, and many of its participants are already serving prison time. De Moraes’ swift and decisive actions have made him a household name, with social media flooded by memes portraying him as everything from Superman to a menacing enforcer, depending on one’s political leanings.
His influence extends far beyond Brazil’s borders. As reported by the Associated Press, de Moraes led the Bolsonaro trial despite considerable pressure from the U.S. government. The Trump administration, with vocal backing from Bolsonaro’s sons, imposed a 50% tariff hike on Brazilian exports and sanctioned de Moraes over what it called the suppression of freedom of expression and his role in overseeing the trial. Yet, de Moraes remained undeterred.
The justice’s clash with Elon Musk last year became an international spectacle. After de Moraes threatened to suspend Musk’s social media platform X in Brazil over issues of misinformation and far-right accounts, Musk lashed out, calling de Moraes “an evil dictator cosplaying as a judge.” But in the end, Musk complied with all of de Moraes’ demands, including blocking certain accounts, paying fines, and appointing a legal representative in Brazil. The platform’s service was restored, but the episode underscored the global reach of de Moraes’ influence—and the fierce debates over free speech and misinformation that now stretch from Brasília to Silicon Valley.
Back at home, de Moraes’ journey to the top of Brazil’s judiciary has been marked by both controversy and acclaim. Appointed to the Supreme Court in 2017 by conservative President Michel Temer, de Moraes previously served as Sao Paulo state’s public security secretary from 2015 to 2016. His experience in law enforcement shaped his approach as president of Brazil’s top electoral court, where he oversaw the contentious 2022 election. His efforts to combat disinformation and protect electoral integrity were widely praised by moderates, international observers, and supporters of current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. According to the Associated Press, de Moraes was also handpicked as rapporteur for a “fake news” probe targeting online attacks against Supreme Court members, resulting in arrests, social media account blocks, and lawsuits against business leaders. These investigations, in many ways, converged in the recent coup plot trial.
Yet, not everyone is convinced by his methods. Some former Bolsonaro allies who once lauded de Moraes’ impartiality now brand him a “communist” and “dictator,” calling for his impeachment and removal from the court. Damares Alves, an evangelical leader and senator who once praised de Moraes as “an unbiased, serious judge who has the right values,” recanted her support hours before Bolsonaro’s conviction, admitting, “They said we would change our minds about Alexandre de Moraes and they were right.”
The stakes of the trial were high. One criminal charge against Bolsonaro referenced military allies plotting to assassinate de Moraes—a chilling reminder of the risks faced by those who challenge entrenched power. Despite this, de Moraes pressed on. During the first week of the trial, he declared, “History teaches us that impunity, omission and cowardice are not options for pacification, because the apparently easier path, and only apparently, is that of impunity, omission, leaving traumatic scars in our society and corrodes our democracy.”
Some of the criticism aimed at de Moraes is, in the view of his supporters, more political than legal. José Eduardo Cardozo, a former justice minister who has known de Moraes for three decades, told the Associated Press, “I may have disagreements in some issues with Justice de Moraes. But in general his standing is rigorously righteous for those who understand constitutional law and defend the rule of law vehemently.” Cardozo called much of the criticism “purely political.”
Even Celso Vilardi, Bolsonaro’s lawyer, acknowledged the technical nature of the dissenting vote by Justice Fux, telling journalists, “I am vindicated. This was a technical vote.” Yet, before taking on Bolsonaro’s defense, Vilardi had expressed nothing but praise for de Moraes.
De Moraes’ approach hasn’t always been popular, but even his critics can’t deny his impact. Former President Michel Temer, who appointed de Moraes to the Supreme Court, remarked in a May 2025 interview with Folha de S.Paulo that “he is no radical,” noting that many of the alleged coup plot participants were initially jailed but later released by de Moraes. The justice’s reputation for not wavering in the face of adversity is well established among friends and foes alike.
As the verdict and sentencing phase of Bolsonaro’s trial concluded on September 11, 2025, fellow justice Flávio Dino took nearly five minutes to publicly praise de Moraes’ work. “Justice Alexandre sees this as finishing line,” Dino said. “But there will be other trials, other tasks. This is a high point in his career, and we have to pay a tribute to him. That’s not very common in our community.”
For now, Alexandre de Moraes remains a defining figure in Brazil’s struggle to defend its democracy. Whether cast as a hero or a villain, his actions have left an indelible mark on the country’s legal and political landscape, and his legacy will surely be debated for years to come.
