Brazil's X ban drives Bolsonaro supporters to rally for 'free speech'

Supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro began flooding Sao Paulo's main boulevard for an Independence Day rally on Saturday, buoyed by the government's blocking of tech billionaire Elon Musk's X platform, a ban they say is proof of their political persecution.

A few thousand demonstrators, clad in the yellow-and-green colours of Brazil's flag, poured onto Av. Paulista. References to the ban on X and images of Musk abounded.

Thank you for defending our freedom, read one banner praising the tech entrepreneur.

Saturday's march is a test of Bolsonaro's capacity to mobilize turnout ahead of the October municipal elections, even though Brazil's electoral court has barred him from running for office until 2030.

It's also something of a referendum on X, whose suspension has raised eyebrows even among some of Bolsonaro's opponents all the while stoking the flames of Brazil's deep-seated political polarisation.

A country without liberty can't celebrate anything this day, ...