Brazil's biggest newspaper, 'Folha de S. Paulo', requested an interview with Lula in prison during the 2018 presidential election campaign. However, Supreme Court Justice Luiz Fux ruled against the interview taking place, as the team reportedly feared it would ruin Bolsonaro's chances at the election; a decision which was only overturned in April 2019.
In June 2019, documents furnished exclusively to news publication The Intercept revealed serious ethical violations and legally prohibited collaboration between the judge and prosecutors who convicted and imprisoned former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on corruption charges: former judge Sergio Moro (now Minister of Justice) repeatedly counseled prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol via Telegram during more than two years of the operation. The conversations show that prosecution had serious doubts about whether there was sufficient evidence to establish Lula's guilt. In other messages Moro stands against investigating a former right-wing president, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, as his support could be important to them.
Michel Temer became president in August 2016 after President Dilma Rousseff was impeached and removed from office, and his term ended on January 1, 2019, when President Jair Bolsonaro was sworn in. His administration was clouded by corruption allegations, though lawmakers refused to authorize his prosecution (in Brazil, the prosecution of a sitting president requires a vote of Congress). In March 2019, he was arrested but was released 5 days later after an order from a federal judge as he "doesn't pose a risk to the investigation into the charges".
The far-right Brazilian government at the time tried to discredit the film after its Oscar nomination with a series of tweets after Jair Bolsonaro stated the film was garbage and a piece of fiction, despite the fact he hadn't even watched it.
Shortly after the events of this film, questions emerged over the financial dealings of elected president Jair Bolsonaro's eldest son, Flávio Bolsonaro, also a recently elected senator, amid mounting allegations he had engaged in an illegal, tithe-like practice by which politicians siphon off part of their employees' wages. The plot thickened when Brazilian newspaper O Globo alleged that Flávio Bolsonaro had employed the mother and wife of an alleged death squad leader whose gang was suspected of involvement in the assassination of the Rio councilor Marielle Franco. Fabrício Queiroz, a longstanding friend and employee of Brazil's president, claims to be the one who have recommended the women for those jobs. Queiroz was also caught sending undeclared large amounts of money to the president's wife and son in the form of many small bank deposits. Investigations on the case were suspended after Jair Bolsonaro questioned and coerced investigating forces and later minister Dias Toffoli accepted a request from Flávio Bolsonaro's defense team to cease the case.