Barroso says that anyone who criticizes judicial activism doesn’t like democracy

This Monday (13), the president of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), minister Luís Roberto Barroso, refuted criticism of the judicial activism practiced by members of the Supreme Court and attributed it to those who do not like democracy and the Constitution.

“People often call decisions they don’t like activists, but generally what they really don’t like is the Constitution or possibly democracy”, said the judge during his participation in the Seminar “The Role of the Supreme Court in democracies” promoted by Estadão and Mackenzie Presbyterian University.

When referring to the Bolsonaro government, however, without mentioning the name of the former president, Barroso also said that the STF “prevented several setbacks”. For the minister, the Court fought what he called “environmental denialism” and “denialism of the seriousness of the pandemic”.

“Democracy and the Constitution over the 35 years have weathered diverse storms, ranging from corruption scandals to the most recent coup threats. The Constitution and democracy managed to resist and the answer is affirmative: Who is the guardian of the Constitution? The STF. So it’s a sign that he has fulfilled his role well and the rest is political retail,” said Barroso.

Furthermore, according to the minister, the “extreme right” has advanced in the world through the dissemination of “fake news” and “conspiracy theories” via social networks. For Barroso, work is needed for the “Center to recover the conservative thinking of the extreme right”.