Vetoed by the majority of the 81 senators, on April 29, Jorge Messias — also known as “Bessias” — will not be a justice of the Supreme Federal Court (STF). This Wednesday, for the first time since 1894, a president’s pick was stopped dead in his tracks by the Legislative branch. Messias now deserves nothing more than a spot in the “historic fiascos” wing of some national museum. Instead of the judicial robe he would have worn for the next 29 years, he will remain suited up as the head of the Attorney General’s Office (AGU) at least until December. Messias failed, but he isn’t even at the front of the line among this elite squad of losers. That spot is reserved for more prominent figures, like the Planalto’s political coordinators and the Supreme Court justices themselves, led by Gilmar Mendes. But the ultimate loser is Lula.
At 82, the owner of the PT (Workers’ Party) still thinks he’s governing the same country that, in 2010, swallowed without a hiccup a political duffer the size of Dilma Rousseff. If he managed to make a woman with half a neuron his successor, he surely asked himself: why be cautious when choosing a Supreme Court justice or the best timing to get the Senate’s endorsement? Blind to the danger signs flashing in the polls, oblivious to the blatant discomfort of a debt-ridden population, and ignoring the public indignation fueled by the arrogance of his partners entrenched in the STF, Lula decided to fill the seat left by Luís Roberto Barroso’s retirement without so much as a conversation with Davi Alcolumbre, the president of the Senate.
Receba nossas atualizações
“Pure hubris,” Alcolumbre repeated to several listeners after learning the president had just sent his protégé’s name to the Senate’s Constitution and Justice Committee. Chosen in late 2025, Messias worked up a sweat in a long “hand-kissing” campaign in Congress. He visited almost every senator. Almost: he couldn’t secure a single private audience with Alcolumbre. Even so, he was oozing optimism as he walked into the committee hearing. Aside from a few punches from inquisitors like Flávio Bolsonaro, Magno Malta, or Eduardo Girão, the hearing once again resembled a tea party, occasionally disrupted by ill-mannered party crashers. The favorable committee result only bloated Lula’s ego further — he had resorted to yet another downpour of parliamentary funds in his effort to worsen an already infamous Supreme Court. He clearly ignored the warning popularized by Tancredo Neves: “Shrewdness, when excessive, grows too big and eats its owner.”
Seconds before the secret ballot results were announced, a whisper from Alcolumbre — captured by a Senate TV video — foreshadowed the most painful defeat Lula has suffered in his 11 years as the tenant of the Palácio da Alvorada. “I think he’s going to lose by eight,” the Senate president whispered to senator Jaques Wagner (Workers’ Party). Rejected by 42 voters and approved by only 34, Messias fell exactly eight votes short of a majority. Alcolumbre was spot on. Satisfied, he took credit for the prediction in a succinct note. “This only reaffirms and demonstrates the Senate president’s experience in floor votes,” ironized the final line of the press release.
What we saw on Wednesday was the reappearance of the art of politics. Confronted with the final numbers on the giant display board, few senators managed to keep their choices a secret. Those who voted “yes” were given away by their silence or gloomy faces. Smiles and cheers revealed more than just the identity of the victors. It also became clear that the “no” vote triumphed thanks to a deal that united declared opposition members and senators closely tied to Alcolumbre. Again, Tancredo Neves: “A deal is based on principles and can only be made with adversaries. With allies, you already have alliances.”
Thanks to this deal made in secret, the Senate — cowed for six years by a Supreme Court that has become the government’s ally — rediscovered its own strength after all. On Thursday, while celebrating the previous day’s victory, millions of decent Brazilians didn’t seem surprised by the override of Lula’s veto on the Dosimetry Bill. In theory, this term, which sounds like a physical exercise, determines “how a judge must calculate the length of a sentence based on the gravity of the crime, the defendant’s record, and the circumstances of the case.” In practice, the project will allow for the reduction of sentences handed down to those convicted for participating in the tumult of January 8, 2023. It could also benefit former president Jair Bolsonaro and other prisoners accused of involvement in “coup acts.” It remains to be decided how, when, and by whom this mountain of cases will be examined. Common sense suggests a task force of competent and compassionate magistrates should be mobilized. If everything stays in Alexandre de Moraes’s office, the release of the beneficiaries could take longer than the record set by the “Fake News Inquiry”—which was launched over six years ago and has no end in sight.
Such doubts didn’t stop decent Brazilians from celebrating the spectacle of the independence of the Powers and its immediate consequences. Lula and the Workers’ Party (PT) have never been weaker. The Senate has rescued its once lost independence. The strength showed by the new majority allows it to perform the role assigned to the Legislative branch by the Constitution without interference from the Judiciary. The Supreme Court now knows it is not omnipotent. The number of senators fed up with this disastrous “Brazilian-style democracy” is enough to punish those who worship abuse and arbitrary rule. The impeachment of justices is on the table to rein in the recalcitrant. Brazil’s atmosphere became a little more breathable after Messias was rejected. Only close relatives and bosom buddies will miss the “doctors” who persecute innocent people while simultaneously enriching themselves as protectors of super-crooks. The unpopularity of the group led by Gilmar Mendes, in fact, became a trump card for the senators opposed to Messias’s entry into the Supreme Court.
The court’s bad composition would have become terrible, warned Oeste magazine. Gilmar did what he could to expand the group he commands. “As head of the AGU,” the senior justice wrote last week, “Messias played a relevant role in defending national sovereignty and facing the ‘tax-fest’ imposed on Brazilian products. His performance before the Supreme Court was also fundamental in holding Big Tech accountable for criminal publications on social media. These credentials show that Jorge Messias is up to the task and holds the conditions to exercise the magistracy with balance, responsibility, and a high institutional sense. The Senate will know how to analyze his multiple attributes.”
Analysis complete: the majority of senators did not agree with Gilmar. “The decision must be respected,” the senior justice conceded. Less laconic, Chief Justice Edson Fachin praised both the voters and the rejected candidate. André Mendonça, the most surprising campaigner for Messias, bowed to the facts after lamenting his friend’s defeat. “The Supreme Court lost a great justice,” he sighed. The Democratic Rule of Law would be grateful if all justices, before and after the vote, simply remained silent. Sensible judges do not comment on the decisions of other branches regarding judges or judicial candidates.
As of Friday morning, Lula hadn’t uttered so much as a peep about the double shipwreck in Congress. It’s unlikely he will try to fill the Supreme Court vacancy before the end of the year. He already has more than enough bitterness to mull over. Honest Brazilians who think and work feel much better now than last week. In the national political calendar, spring may have just begun amid this fall.
Entre ou assine para enviar um comentário.
Você precisa de uma assinatura válida para enviar um comentário, faça um upgrade aqui.