“Sometimes, no response is the best insult.” Paulo Coelho
Elon Musk is a successful entrepreneur, that's a fact. An advocate of the free market—but one who uses and abuses public investment in his businesses—he has a lot to contribute to the tech business world. And that's all.
As a public figure, he is a braggart. He is constantly involved in bizarre situations and is known for spreading false information on social media. He was forced to step down as president of Tesla for three years because of the nonsense he posts. He was also heavily criticized for derogatory messages to a diver responsible for rescuing teenagers trapped in a cave in Thailand. An advocate of chloroquine as a treatment for COVID, Musk maintains that aliens built the pyramids of Egypt.
Therefore, as the old saying goes: "a closed mouth is a poet."
Now, I am amazed at how this issue has mobilized the country for days. How is it possible that a statement by a wealthy South African businessman could cause Brazilian institutions to devote time and brainpower to debating the issue? The three branches of government have officially spoken out vehemently on the subject. They speak of an attack on democracy, disrespect for national sovereignty, a conspiracy by the far right, a coordinated attack on the supreme courts around the world, citing the episodes in Venezuela and Israel. They say that he disrespected Brazilian authorities and treated the country like a banana republic.
In fact, it was the Brazilian authorities who behaved like a small country by reacting so strongly to a habitual loudmouth. Can anyone imagine the reverse scenario? A large and wealthy Brazilian businessman makes a statement that he will not obey the decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court, and this leads to public demonstrations by its judges, the U.S. Congress mobilizes, President Biden makes a statement on the issue, and U.S. institutions affirm that the country's sovereignty and democracy are under attack.
This is unimaginable and even laughable.
Why such a strong reaction? Just obey the law. In the Brazilian penal code, failure to comply with a court order can be classified under several articles, depending on the nature of the order and the specific circumstances. Therefore, the crimes of disobedience (art. 330), contempt (art. 331), and disobedience to a court decision (art. 359) may apply. All of these carry a prison sentence. Thus, if Elon Musk's company fails to comply with a court decision, its representatives in Brazil will be subject to arrest. And if the arrest warrant is issued against a person residing abroad, a red alert is issued to Interpol so that it can be enforced by international police.
This victimized and exaggerated behavior that we tend to adopt in international affairs characterizes us as a second-world country, in which we attach great importance to what foreigners think and little relevance to what they actually do. We are experiencing a profound crisis. Everything is very shallow, superficial, and valued more for its appearance. A mere post of a few characters generates more impact than a doctoral thesis. We need more depth in our debates, more content, eloquence, erudition, and consequently more education. Who cares what the boastful businessman says but does not do, demonstrating his detachment from what matters.
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