The U.S. State Department set aside US$1 million for a project backing Brazilian groups that oppose what it calls judicial overreach and censorship by Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court (STF). No recipient groups have been named, and no payment has been confirmed. The funding comes as voters face a close presidential race, courts consider election-related social-media posts, and lawmakers seek changes to the judiciary’s powers.
A Grant With No Named Recipients
The Guardian reported the allocation on Wednesday, 30 September, citing State Department documents and sources; G1 and Agência Brasil carried the report on Thursday. At the 1 October exchange rate, the amount comes to about R$5.2 million. That figure is a currency conversion, not a separate payment.
The Brazil project is one of 43 awards totaling US$176.9 million from the Human Rights and Democracy Fund, which the U.S. Congress appropriates for democracy and rights work abroad. The largest reported award is US$40 million for a consortium led by the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. A separate US$5 million grant would support a British group campaigning against online-safety and hate-speech laws.
A Democratic congressional aide told The Guardian that Senator Jeanne Shaheen had placed holds on US$22 million in grants, including funding for Brazil, South Africa, Nigeria and right-wing causes in Britain and Europe. The aide also said Secretary of State Marco Rubio personally signed a memo overriding the holds. One source provided that account, and no independent confirmation has emerged.
The State Department declined to comment on specific grants. It told The Guardian that the programmes were under “active deliberation” and would undergo vetting. Recipients would also have to meet federal grant rules. Agência Brasil reported that it had no information on whether the money had been transferred or merely committed. The STF did not respond to Agência Brasil before publication.
On 1 October, Brazil’s head of the Attorney General’s Office (AGU), Jorge Messias, called the report a warning for Brazilian sovereignty. He said foreign political interests must not interfere with Brazil’s institutions or voters’ choices. The grant represents well under 1% of the total package. Where the money will go, and whether it will move at all, remains unsettled.
Courts, Candidates and Voters
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro were tied at 42% in Quaest’s latest runoff poll, released Monday, ahead of Brazil’s first-round general election on Sunday, 4 October. Datafolha’s last poll, on 24 September, put Lula at 47% and Flávio at 45%, within the margin of error.
On Wednesday, the Superior Electoral Court began hearing a dispute over false social-media posts claiming Flávio would strip Our Lady of Aparecida, Brazil’s patron saint, of her title. The court formed a majority to keep offline posts that directly link Flávio or his family to the claim. Under the electoral code, authorities can’t arrest voters from Tuesday until 17:00 on 6 October, except when they catch someone in the act.
A Judiciary Under Pressure From Several Directions
Members of Congress have filed at least 84 proposed constitutional amendments concerning the court, according to a CNN Brasil survey: 64 in the Chamber of Deputies and 20 in the Senate. Most proposals predate a banking scandal involving Banco Master, and the oldest pending one dates to 2005. The newest, filed on 2 September 2026 by Senator Zequinha Marinho of the Podemos party, would bar former justices from elected office for five years.
Other proposals would replace service until age 75 with fixed terms. Senator Plínio Valério’s PEC 16/2019 proposes eight years, while PEC 51/2023 proposes 15. Some proposals would change how justices are selected or who can ask the Senate to impeach one. Senator Cleitinho filed a 2025 proposal reinforcing citizens’ right to lodge impeachment requests.
The most advanced measure, PEC 8/2021, would bar individual justices from suspending laws or acts of the president and Congress. The Senate approved it on 22 November 2023 by 52 votes to 18 in both rounds. The Chamber’s constitution and justice committee backed it on 9 October 2024 by 39 votes to 18; it still needs a special committee and two floor votes in the Chamber. A constitutional amendment needs three-fifths of each chamber in two rounds: 308 of 513 deputies and 49 of 81 senators. Once both chambers approve identical text, Congress promulgates it without the president’s signature, so the president can’t veto it.
The dispute over who can restrain the court is also playing out inside the STF. Individual justices can issue urgent monocratic decisions suspending a law until the full bench rules; a case rapporteur steers the case and writes the lead vote. Brazil’s 11 justices are named by the president, confirmed by the Senate and serve until retiring at 75. No grassroots or community-organized response to the grant or court dispute appeared in the reports; the decisions described remain in the hands of courts, Congress and government agencies.