Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has rallied thousands of protesters in central Sao Paulo to protest against the country’s ban of the social media platform X.

The demonstration was timed to the country’s Independence Day on Saturday.

It also unfolded while Bolsonaro’s political rival, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, led an official parade with the country’s military in the capital Brasilia.

Dressed in the colours of the Brazilian flag, Bolsonaro climbed atop a temporary stage erected on Sao Paulo’s main thoroughfare, Paulista Avenue, and addressed the crowd.

His remarks took aim at one of the main figures responsible for the ban on X: Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.

“I hope that the Federal Senate puts the brakes on Alexandre de Moraes, this dictator who does more harm to Brazil than Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva himself,” Bolsonaro told the crowd.

De Moraes had called upon the social media platform to appoint a legal representative in Brazil, as is required under Brazilian law.

In August, when X refused to comply, De Moraes released an order for the suspension of all the platform’s activities in Brazil.

It was the culmination of an ongoing spat between De Moraes and X’s owner, Elon Musk.

The billionaire entrepreneur had closed X’s offices in Brazil earlier that month, to avoid having to comply with separate court orders to suspend accounts peddling misinformation.

On September 2, Brazil’s Supreme Court unanimously upheld the decision to ban X, with all five judges offering their support.

Explaining the decision, Justice Flavio Dino said, “A party that intentionally fails to comply with court decisions appears to consider itself above the rule of law.”

But that failed to quell the uproar, particularly among members of the far right in Brazil, who considered the shuttering of X as an infringement of their free-speech rights.

Bolsonaro, a figurehead of Brazil’s far right, seized the moment to call for protest.

“When freedom of expression and the press are threatened, democracy cries out for help,” he wrote on social media on September 4.

“Therefore, I call on all Brazilians who love freedom and our democracy: Come to Paulista Avenue next Saturday, September 7!”

Bolsonaro himself has had clashes with De Moraes, who formerly led the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), which oversees Brazil’s elections.

In the lead-up to the 2022 presidential elections, Bolsonaro, the incumbent, spread misinformation about electoral fraud. After he lost the vote, Bolsonaro and his allies proceeded to challenge the results, using unfounded claims to sow suspicion.

The result was weeks of protests and a violent assault on Brasilia’s government buildings on January 8, 2023, as Bolsonaro’s supporters looted the premises.

De Moraes led the Superior Electoral Court in voting to ban Bolsonaro from office until 2030 for his role in spreading false information.

At the Independence Day protest in Sao Paulo, Bolsonaro re-upped his false claims about the 2022 election.

“The 2022 elections were completely biased by the president of the Superior Electoral Court, Alexandre de Moraes,” he told the crowd, adding that the January 8 riot was a “set-up”.

The Venice Film Festival draws to a close this evening with its glamorous awards gala, and though the feeling on the ground was that the 21-title-strong main competition was a touch off the pace of recent years, still the festival is looking pretty good for an 81-year-old. Especially one who has spent the past 11 days stewing in the scorching humidity of the Lido. 

Light on the kind of genuine, potentially crossover breakouts — like Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Poor Things” last year  — that sound the starter’s gun on the Oscars race in earnest, there was also some speculation about whether this year’s jury would want to skew less American in terms of their Golden Lion top pick (five of the last seven of those have gone to a US production or co-production). But that, of course, was before US director Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist” emerged as the closest thing to a consensus critical pick that this edition has fielded. 

Here is where we will keep you updated live on the decisions of the main jury, headed up by Isabelle Huppert and comprising filmmakers James Gray, Andrew Haigh, Agnieszka Holland, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Abderrahmane Sissako, Giuseppe Tornatore and Julia von Heinz and actress Zhang Ziyi. And also we’ll be revealing the winners in the Horizons sidebar section, where the jury of seven (president Debra Granik, Ali Asgari, Soudade Kaadan, Christos Nikou, Tuva Novotny, Gábor Reisz, Valia Santella) made their selections from among 19 features and the Horizons Short Film program.

See the full list of Venice Film Festival award winners below:

COMPETITION
Golden Lion for Best Film: 
Grand Jury Prize: 
Silver Lion for Best Director:
Special Jury Prize: 
Best Screenplay: 
Volpi Cup for Best Actress: 
Volpi Cup for Best Actor: 
Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor: 

HORIZONS
Best Film:
Best Director:
Special Jury Prize:
Best Actress: Kathleen Chalfant, “Familiar Touch”
Best Actor: Francesco Gheghi, “Familia”
Best Screenplay: Scandar Copti, “Happy Holidays”
Best Short Film: “Who Loves the Sun,” Arshia Shakiba

LION OF THE FUTURE
Luigi de Laurentiis Award for Best Debut Feature: “Familiar Touch,” Sarah Friedland

HORIZONS EXTRA
Audience Award: “The Witness,” Nader Saeivar

VENICE CLASSICS
Best Documentary on Cinema: “Chain Reactions,” Alexandre O. Philippe
Best Restored Film: “Ecce Bombo,” Nanni Moretti

VENICE IMMERSIVE
Grand Jury Prize: “Ito Meikyu,” Boris Labbé
Special Jury Prize: “Oto’s Planet,” Gwenael François
Achievement Prize: “Impulse: Playing With Reality,” Barry Gene Murphy, May Abdalla

GIORNATE DEGLI AUTORI (announced earlier)
GdA Director’s Award: “Manas,” Marianna Brennand 
Audience Award: “Taxi Monamour,” Ciro De Caro
Europa Cinemas Label Award: “Alpha,” Jan-Willem van Ewijk

CRITICS’ WEEK (announced earlier)
Grand Prize: “Don’t Cry, Butterfly,” Dương Diệu Linh
Special Mention: “No Sleep Till,” Alexandra Simpson
Audience Award: “Paul & Paulette Take a Bath” Jethro Massey
Verona Film Club Award for Most Innovative Film: “Don’t Cry, Butterfly,” Dương Diệu Linh
Mario Serandrei – Hotel Saturnia Award for Best Technical Contribution: “Homegrown,” Michael Premo
Best Short Film: “Things That My Best Friend Lost,” Marta Innocenti
Best Director (Short Film): “Nero Argento,” Francesco Manzato
Best Technical Contribution (Short Film): “At Least I Will Be 8 294 400 Pixel,” Marco Talarico