Dino gains strength as a name to take over Rosa Weber’s vacancy in the STF

The name of the Minister of Justice, Flavio Dino, has gained strength behind the scenes at the Esplanada dos Ministérios and is one of those quoted to take over from Minister Rosa Weber, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF). The current President of the Court will retire in October, which will allow President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) to make a new appointment later this year. Recently, the petista signed the name of his lawyer, Cristiano Zanin, in the vacancy left by Ricardo Lewandowski.

Government officials interviewed by People’s Gazette admit that Dino’s name came to be considered given his proximity to Lula and his legal experience. The current Minister of Justice made his career as a federal judge, was president of the National Association of Federal Judges, member of the National Council of Justice and left the judiciary to enter politics in 2006, when he was elected federal deputy for Maranhão.

In addition, Dino has been adopting a less radical tone in recent weeks, despite his participation in the UNE congress, when he assumed that he seeks regulation of social networks because of the proliferation of right-wing ideas. The minister’s change of tone was interpreted by government colleagues as a move to pave his nomination to the STF. Before that, he had been one of the main responsible for clashes with names of the opposition on the internet and in public hearings in the National Congress.

The assessment inside the Planalto Palace is that if the minister signals to the president that he wants to return to a career in the Judiciary, Lula would not object to nominating him. The minister says that he is happy with his current position in the government and guarantees that he has never discussed the issue with the Chief Executive.

Nomination of Flávio Dino has the support of STF ministers

Within the STF, a possible indication of Flávio Dino would not be poorly received by the ministers of the Court. The ex-governor is known in the legal field – his brother, for example, is deputy prosecutor Nicolão Dino, often quoted as head of the Attorney General’s Office – and coexists well with the cream of the law, always present in trials, hearings , solemnities and legal events.

This year, he gained more sympathy within the STF for joining a fight by ministers in favor of regulating social networks. In addition to pressure on the National Congress to approve the Fake News PL, Dino took measures at the Ministry of Justice itself to pressure the big techs to control more what traffics on their platforms.

With the Federal Police under his command, he began to collaborate with Alexandre de Moraes in the criticized investigations against “anti-democratic acts” and “digital militias”, especially after the 8th of January. Dino, incidentally, remains shielded by Moraes in the investigation into the case, despite numerous attempts by right-wing parliamentarians to accuse him of failing to provide security at Praça dos Três Poderes, on the day of the invasion.

Another of Dino’s assets is his close dialogue with the political world. A former governor and licensed senator, he has contacts in the PCdoB, where he has been, and in the PSB, his current party, but also in the left field in general.

Other names run outside in the search for Rosa Weber’s vacancy

As with any other new candidate for the STF, the existence of a long queue of interested parties who presented themselves before weighs against his eventual nomination. Within the STF, there are ministers who prefer names close to colleagues from the Superior Court of Justice (STJ). The strongest today are Luís Felipe Salomão and Benedito Gonçalves.

They have been on the list of favorites for years, but now they have gained strength because they played a decisive role, alongside Moraes, in condemning ex-president Jair Bolsonaro to ineligibility, and also in eroding and removing the mandate of ex-prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol. (Podemos-PR), who was coordinator of the Lava Jato task force.

Another person interested in the vacancy, and who also committed to Dallagnol’s impeachment, is the current president of the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU), Bruno Dantas. It was his initiative to charge R$ 3 million from the former head of Lava Jato for daily rates and tickets paid to former members of the Curitiba task force.

The Prerogativas group, formed by lawyers who militate against Lava Jato and who have influence over Lula, has several other favorite names, such as those of professors Pedro Serrano and Lenio Streck, of lawyers Dora Cavalcanti, Flávia Rahal and Carol Proner, in addition to the judge Simone Schreiber.

Dino uses the program to travel around the country and paves the way for a possible candidacy for the Planalto post-Lula

In addition to being quoted to take a seat on the STF, the name of Flávio Dino is pointed out as one of the left’s presidential candidates in the post-Lula period. The assessment is that the minister has taken advantage of his role in the portfolio to pave the way for a possible candidacy for the Planalto in 2026 or 2030.

To his interlocutors, Dino has emphasized that he likes to be a politician and has not regretted the choice he made in the past, when he left the judiciary to join politics. A seat on the STF, however, is not entirely ruled out by Lula’s Minister of Justice.

In the midst of these movements, Flavio Dino has been traveling the country to promote the launch of the National Program for Public Security with Citizenship (Pronasci). The project, however, has not yet been finalized by technicians from the Ministry of Justice.

In all, the head of the portfolio has already traveled to 16 states in Brazil to publicize the program that aims to reduce violence rates and promote citizenship. Planalto’s internal assessment is that Pronasci will be a showcase for Flávio Dino’s projection within the Lula government. With Pronasci, the minister has already delivered, for example, around 200 vehicles to cities across the country.

“I bring equipment, I bring weapons, I bring vehicles, especially for this cause, the cause of protecting women. If we want, as we really want, to honor families, we have to fight femicide. We will never have a fair country as long as people think they can kill women”, said Dino during a visit to Goiânia last week.

On the agenda, Dino promised to deliver to Goiás 58 vehicles, nine drones, 40,500 ammunition, as well as pistols and other equipment for the police forces. The total investment in the state exceeds R$ 9 million, according to the ministry.