Brazil's Businessmen Call for Institutional Harmony as Bolsonaro Stops Taunting Judiciary

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Brazilian business leaders published an open letter Friday calling for peace between the executive, legislative and judiciary powers.

"Civil associations signing this letter watch with great concern the escalation of tension among public authorities. This moment requires ... political pacification, institutional stability and above all focus on immediate actions and measures for Brazil to overcome the pandemic, to resume sustainable growth and to continue creating jobs," the letter read.

The letter comes one day after Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro backed off his repeated attacks on the judiciary. On Thursday, Bolsonaro said that his recent swipes at the Supreme Court were "in the heat of the moment", referring to statements during rallies on Brazil’s Independence Day on September 7. In his address to the public, the president said the judiciary was "playing beyond" the Constitution and called the 2022 presidential race a "farce," in which he does not intend to participate in case the e-voting system stays unchanged.

On August 20, Bolsonaro sent a request to the Senate, the upper house of parliament, to impeach Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes after he opened several investigations into his conduct. This attempt failed when Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco refused to initiate the dismissal process. The president also confirmed that he was planning to request the impeachment of Luis Robert Barroso, the head of the Superior Electoral Court.