The U.S. State Department has earmarked US$1 million for a project backing Brazilian civil-society groups that oppose what it calls judicial overreach and censorship by the Supreme Federal Court (STF), Brazil’s highest court. No recipient groups have been named, and no payment has been confirmed. The funding comes as Brazil’s election approaches and Congress weighs measures to curb the court’s powers.
Who Controls the Funding
The Guardian reported the allocation on Wednesday, 30 September, citing State Department documents and sources. G1 and Agência Brasil relayed the report on Thursday. The project, titled “Countering Lawfare and Censorship in Brazil,” 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. Its US$1 million allocation amounts to well under 1% of that package.
The largest reported award is US$40 million for a consortium led by the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. Another US$5 million grant would support a British group campaigning against online-safety and hate-speech laws. At the 1 October exchange rate of R$5.20 per U.S. dollar, the Brazil allocation equals about R$5.2 million. That’s a currency conversion, not a separate payment.
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 said Secretary of State Marco Rubio personally signed a memo overriding the holds. That account came from one source and hasn’t been independently confirmed.
The State Department didn’t comment on specific grants. It told The Guardian the programmes were under “active deliberation” and would undergo vetting. Recipients would have to meet federal grant rules. Agência Brasil reported that no information was available on whether the money had been transferred or only committed.
Brazil’s head of the Attorney General’s Office (AGU), Jorge Messias, said on 1 October that the report was a warning for Brazilian sovereignty and that foreign political interests must not interfere with Brazil’s institutions or voters’ choices. The STF didn’t respond to Agência Brasil before publication, and Brazil’s foreign ministry hasn’t commented in the reports reviewed.
Election and Court Powers
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro were tied at 42% in Quaest’s latest runoff poll, released Monday, ahead of the 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.
The Superior Electoral Court began judging a dispute on Wednesday over false social-media posts claiming Flávio would strip Our Lady of Aparecida, Brazil’s patron saint, of her title. A majority formed to keep offline posts that directly link Flávio or his family to the claim. Under the electoral code, voters can’t be arrested from Tuesday until 17:00 on 6 October, except when caught in the act.
Congressional efforts to change the STF are already extensive. Members of Congress have filed at least 84 proposed constitutional amendments, according to a CNN Brasil survey: 64 in the Chamber of Deputies and 20 in the Senate. Most predate a banking scandal involving Banco Master, and the oldest pending proposal dates to 2005.
The newest proposal, 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; PEC 51/2023 proposes 15. Other measures would change how justices are selected or who may ask the Senate to impeach one. Senator Cleitinho filed a 2025 proposal reinforcing citizens’ right to lodge impeachment requests.
A Measure Still Before Congress
PEC 8/2021 is the most advanced proposal. It 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, but the proposal still needs a special committee and two floor votes in the Chamber.
A constitutional amendment requires three-fifths of each chamber in two rounds: 308 of 513 deputies and 49 of 81 senators. If both chambers approve identical text, Congress promulgates it without the president’s signature. The president can’t veto it.
The reform debate has intensified as Justice Alexandre de Moraes faces scrutiny over Banco Master, a lender the Central Bank shut down in November 2025. The Federal Police detained Banco Master controlling shareholder Daniel Vorcaro in a fraud investigation, Reuters reported. Moraes hasn’t been charged, and no court or authority had found wrongdoing by him or his wife.
The Supreme Federal Court convicted Jair Bolsonaro of plotting a coup and sentenced him to 27 years in prison. Washington later targeted the court, according to Agência Brasil. In July 2025, Washington sanctioned Moraes after lobbying by Eduardo Bolsonaro, the former president’s son; CNN Brasil reported that Washington lifted the sanctions in December 2025. Friction also continued over STF rulings restricting American digital platforms, which the court says target online crime.