Communists don't give up power once they have seized it. Bukele said it clearly: "If you don't impeach corrupt judges, you CANNOT reform the country. They will form a cartel (a judicial dictatorship) and block all reforms." Brazil has just shown it live. The Supreme Court annulled Lula's corruption convictions on procedural grounds. The same court sentenced his main rival, Jair Bolsonaro, to 27 years in prison, after the electoral court had already barred him from running. Yesterday, Lula won a fourth term. France has practiced it for decades, maybe more subtly and discreetly – though in 2013, a left-wing magistrates' union was caught with a "wall of idiots" in its offices: photos of right-wing politicians pinned up for mockery. Universal suffrage only makes sense if the last word belongs to the elected – not to a network of irremovable magistrates who interpret the rules according to their own interests. Without real removal of political judges, elections remain theater. The cartel stays in place. Now imagine Poland, where our judiciary is in total continuity from communist times. A military judge of martial law later presided over a chamber of the Supreme Court of supposedly free Poland. The methods are more subtle now, of course – these people are smart – but the results are the same. And just for good measure, look at who eagerly congratulated the corrupt Lula straight away: Ursula von der Leyen. Birds of a feather recognize each other at first sight. It tells us a lot about Ursula and Lula alike…