Brazil “President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva lost a lawsuit he had filed against former Globo journalist Luís Ernesto Lacombe, who published a video in 2024 comparing the politician to 'the devil.' The ruling, obtained by VEJA, was issued by Judge Paulo Cerqueira Campos of the Federal District Court of Justice and published in late February. Lula, a member of the Workers’ Party, has now been ordered to pay Lacombe’s court costs, set at 9,395 Brazilian reais [about US $1,800].
Brazil’s Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office in its written opinion requested the case be dismissed: ‘Luís Ernesto Lacombe’s speech has a clear critical purpose (animus criticandi), within the lawful exercise of a fundamental right (freedom of expression), particularly because it is limited to a value judgment regarding the political and governmental decisions of the head of state and government. Every pejorative expression in the speech is associated with a specific, contextualized criticism.’”
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Translated with AI assistance and reviewed by César Lopez Linares
