Brazil President Declares Support for Joe Rogan: 'Stand Your Ground!'
Brazilian leader Jair Bolsonaro backs podcaster as Joe Biden pushes for censorship
© press
Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro has declared his support for Joe Rogan's right to free speech, urging the podcaster to "stand your ground!"
Bolsonaro, aka "Tropical Trump," weighed in on the ongoing controversy as Democrat Joe Biden and the American corporate media attempt to silence Rogan with censorship.
In a message on Twitter, Bolsonaro condemned the attacks against Rogan as an attempt to stifle free speech and freedom of the press.
The Brazilian leader directed his message to Rogan, sending him “hugs” and telling him, “Stand your ground!”
- I'm not sure what @joerogan thinks about me or about my government, but it doesn't matter. If freedom of speech means anything, it means that people should be free to say what they think, no matter if they agree or disagree with us. Stand your ground! Hugs from Brazil. đ
— Jair M. Bolsonaro (@jairbolsonaro) February 3, 2022
Another Latin American leader, President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador, also announced his support for Rogan by blasting attempts at censoring dissidents of the mainstream press.
© press
Bukele pointed out that the administration of Joe Biden has directly weighed in on Rogan’s podcast and called for him to be censored.
Rogan is facing pressure from the left – despite having endorsed socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in the 2020 presidential election – over podcast episodes featuring individuals who dissent from mainstream public health officials on handling the pandemic.
The controversy became international news after rock musician Neil Young announced he would remove his music from Spotify, which publishes The Joe Rogan Experience episodes, as a means of protest against the comedian.
"I’m not sure what [Rogan] thinks about me or my government,” Bolsonaro wrote in English on Twitter, “but it doesn’t matter.”
"If freedom of speech means anything, it means that people should be free to say what they think, no matter if they agree or disagree with us,” Bolsonaro wrote.
"Stand your ground! Hugs from Brazil."
While leading a conservative government, Bolsonaro’s tenure in office has been marked by legal persecution of podcasters, YouTubers, and even lawmakers for their public broadcasts by the country’s Supreme Federal Tribunal (STF), the top court.
The court is dominated by appointees nominated by former socialist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva who have used their powers to order federal police raids on public commenters who support Bolsonaro.
In one of the more infamous episodes of this, the STF ordered 29 raids on bloggers, actors, and lawmakers in May 2020 on charges of “fake news,” which is not a crime in Brazil.
A year later, the STF ordered the arrest of conservative Congressman Daniel Silveira (PSL-RJ) on “fake news” grounds over a YouTube live stream in which he accused the justices on the court of abusing their power.
Bolsonaro himself has been the victim of censorship, though not by the STF.
In July, YouTube censored a presidential live stream on the grounds that, like Rogan, Bolsonaro had trespassed in his statements into coronavirus “misinformation.”
Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador, appeared to take Rogan’s side in the current controversy, though he did not address his post on Twitter to the comedian and former game show host.
FrEeDoM oF tHe PrEsS iS uNdEr AtTaCk In El SaLvAdOr https://t.co/PkPlVOeOc0
— Nayib Bukele đžđ» (@nayibbukele) February 2, 2022
Bukele appears to be referencing complaints from human rights groups that his criticism of journalists had led them to fear for their safety.
“Since President Nayib Bukele took office in June of 2019, he has undermined press freedoms, lashing out at independent journalists, accusing them of spreading ‘fake news,’ and calling them ‘mercenaries,'” Human Rights Watch lamented in March.
© press
Amnesty International has similarly complained that Bukele, who is a very active Twitter user, has criticized non-governmental organizations, which has allegedly resulted in “harassment.”
Unlike Bolsonaro, who is a right-wing conservative, Bukele has defied political labels. His career beginnings were with the far-left Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), but he was expelled from the party in 2017 for “defamatory acts” against the party and “disrespect for the principles of the party.”
The FMLN has since opposed his administration and many in the international left have dubbed him “right-wing.”
