This is John Batcher, conversation with my colleague Mary Anastasio Grady of the Wall Street Journal

editorial page, writing her column about a contest between the Supreme Court Judge Alexander

D. Marais of Brazil and Elon Musk.

The issue begins that De Marise has ordered X owned by Musk

to take down to banish people who are going on X Twitter and dissenting from

Lula de Silva's presidency and his conduct before and after his victory in 2022.

Mary looks very carefully at what it is that Deema Rice is hoping to achieve.

It's quite broad-based and presents a different face than the world

sees of Lula de Silva, the three times elected President of Brazil, who left a jail cell after being convicted of corruption

to run for the presidency and succeed barely in 2022. There was no recount because of conduct by the Supreme Court.

Here's Mary Anastasia Grady to identify what is achieved by Demerai's taking on Elon Musk, the richest man in the solar system, and freedom

of expression in Brazil.

More of this tonight?

Well, they want to stop the debate in the public square about whether Lula's a crook,

which many people think he is, and that he should have stayed in jail.

They want to end the debate about whether the election was fair

in October of 2022.

And they want to have basically a monopoly on the narrative about who Lula is and who former President

Jia Bolsonaro is.

They don't want that public debate and that's how they benefit.

Of course they're making very angry one half of the country,

but they're satisfying the other half.

...