When Jair Bolsonaro plotted(策划，密谋) a coup after losing his bid for re-election in 2022, it was Brazil’s Supreme Court(巴西最高法院) that held him to account(追究他的责任). In the face of constant threats, including from Donald Trump, the justices proceeded calmly with prosecuting the populist former president, handing him a 27-year sentence in September 2025.(面对包括来自唐纳德·特朗普的持续威胁，大法官们冷静地推进对这位民粹主义前总统的起诉，并于2025年9月判处其27年监禁。) Most Brazilians cheered that their young democracy was saved.
2022年雅伊尔·博索纳罗竞选连任失败后策划政变，是巴西最高法院让他承担了责任。面对包括来自唐纳德·特朗普的持续威胁，大法官们冷静地推进对这位民粹主义前总统的起诉，并于2025年9月判处其27年监禁。大多数巴西人为他们年轻的民主制度得到拯救而欢呼。
Now, as a general election approaches on October 4th, democracy’s defenders have become a threat. The Supreme Court is at the centre of an ugly, ever-expanding(不断扩大的) corruption scandal. In the middle is the justice who oversaw Mr Bolsonaro’s prosecution, Alexandre de Moraes.(处于漩涡中心的，正是主导博索纳罗起诉案的大法官亚历山大·德莫赖斯。)
如今，随着10月4日大选临近，民主的捍卫者反而成了威胁。最高法院正处于一场丑陋且不断扩大的腐败丑闻中心。而处于漩涡中心的，正是主导博索纳罗起诉案的大法官亚历山大·德莫赖斯。
Mr Moraes made several questionable decisions when he went after(追查，追击) Mr Bolsonaro. He took down(删除，下架) social-media accounts, especially of bolsonaristas(博索纳罗支持者), that he claimed threatened the Supreme Court. The “fake-news inquiry”, as the Brazilian press dubbed it, continues to this day and remains confidential, so it is impossible to know how many accounts Mr Moraes has censored or why.(这项被巴西媒体称为“假新闻调查”的行动持续至今且保密，因此外界无从得知德莫赖斯究竟审查了多少账号、原因何在。)
德莫赖斯在追查博索纳罗时做出了若干可疑决定。他封禁了一些社交媒体账号，尤其是博索纳罗支持者的账号，声称它们威胁到最高法院。这项被巴西媒体称为“假新闻调查”的行动持续至今且保密，因此外界无从得知德莫赖斯究竟审查了多少账号、原因何在。
Perdeu, playboy
你输了，花花公子
How democracies die
民主如何消亡