A Corruption Scandal Is Reshaping Brazil’s Presidential Election

Explosive allegations of corruption are embroiling a Brazilian Supreme Court justice, Alexandre de Moraes, and reshaping the country’s high-stakes presidential election. Ana Ionova, who covers Brazil for The Times, has been reporting on the Supreme Court for years. She reported from Brasília and Rio de Janeiro. He cracked down on a deluge of online lies. He punished rioters falsely claiming a stolen election. And he jailed a former president who tried to stage a coup. Depending on whom you ask, this made Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes either a hero who protected Brazil’s democracy or a villain deploying authoritarian means to target the far right. His decisions have turned him into a polarizing figure in the complicated global debate over the limits and policing of what can be said online — and drew the ire, and sanctions, of President Trump . Now, an explosive scandal linking Justice Moraes to a disgraced banker at the center of a multibillion dollar fraud scheme has plunged Brazil’s highest court into a crisis, reshaping a narrow presidential election just weeks away. The crisis began when another justice made public a damning police dossier suggesting that Justice Moraes may have exchanged dozens of messages with the banker, Daniel Vorcaro. In texts apparently sent to Justice Moraes, Mr. Vorcaro asked for help avoiding arrest.

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