Dino strengthens for STF, PT acts to command Justice – 09/19/2023 – Power

Less than two weeks before the retirement of Minister Rosa Weber, from the STF (Supreme Federal Court), and the departure of Augusto Aras from the PGR (Attorney General’s Office), President Lula (PT) has not yet dropped the hammer on who he will nominate for both positions.

On one front, Minister Flávio Dino (Justice) gained strength in the dispute for the next vacancy in the STF, which fueled the greed of a PT wing for the position that would remain vacant.

Party members are calling for the Ministry of Justice to be dismembered and the Ministry of Public Security to be recreated — even in a scenario in which Dino does not go to the Supreme Court.

According to people close to the president, the minister gained strength after signaling to Lula that he would be willing to occupy Rosa’s seat, who will turn 75 on October 2 and will compulsorily leave the court.

Despite Dino’s favoritism, there is a group in the PT that still insists on the option of Jorge Messias (Attorney General of the Union) for the STF. The current attorney general of the Union is considered a name that is more aligned with PTism.

Regarding the succession of Aras, who needs to leave command of the PGR by September 26, some of Lula’s assistants at Palácio do Planalto assess that the president may take longer than expected to resolve the succession.

The PT member spoke last week with the two main candidates for the position: Paulo Gonet, current deputy attorney general of the Republic, and Antônio Carlos Bigonha.

The first has the support of Supreme Court ministers, such as Gilmar Mendes and Alexandre de Moraes, and Dino himself.

Bigonha now has the support of a large part of the PT. Until recently, he was considered the favorite in Planalto.

Allies who closely follow the issue say that Lula did not emerge fully satisfied from either conversation. According to these allies, he signaled preference for the conversation he had with Gonet, which contributed to confusing the dispute.

The third most rated is Aras himself, but he has little chance due to his performance assessed as docile to the Jair Bolsonaro (PL) government.

During the Bolsonaro administration, Aras was accused of his inaction in the face of the government’s erratic action in the Covid-19 pandemic; in the face of suspected irregularities, such as in investigations into interference in the command of the Federal Police; and in the face of the dissemination of fake news.

With the lack of definition, say palace assistants and political organizers, the president will be able to gather suggestions from other names. In this scenario, prosecutor Carlos Frederico, who is an ally of Aras, began to be mentioned as a possibility.

Amid this scenario, Lula still needs to deal with other pressure. A wing of the government would like the president to nominate Aras’s replacement by Friday (22), to prevent Elizeta Maria de Paiva Ramos, vice-president of the CSMPF (Superior Council of the Federal Public Ministry), from remaining as interim head for too long from PGR.

Government members also point out that the decisions of the STF and the PGR are intertwined, as Lula weighs the pros and cons of empowering some Supreme Court ministers.

If you choose Gonet in the PGR, for example, Lula will include Gilmar and Moraes. The STF ministers will also be included if Rosa’s seat in the Supreme Court goes to Dino.

Government ministers consider it difficult for Lula to serve both magistrates in both nominations.

Dino’s strengthening in the dispute is a practically unanimous assessment among Lula’s assistants.

The minister’s popularity on social media is cited as a factor that favors his candidacy. In addition to the emphasis on defending the Lula government, the support of internet users weighs in its favor, which, allies say, would cool criticism for the non-appointment of a woman to the court.

Lula is under pressure since, with Rosa’s departure, the Supreme Court will have only one woman in its composition: Minister Cármen Lúcia. Therefore, sectors of society are organizing to pressure the president to at least maintain the current female representation on the court.

Black movement organizations also intensified their mobilization for the unprecedented nomination of a black woman to the STF. Dino declared himself brown to the TSE (Superior Electoral Court) in the last elections.

Despite this scenario, Messias remains well placed in the fight. The list of main candidates also includes Bruno Dantas, president of the TCU (Federal Audit Court). He has a strong entry into the political class and has the support of the president of the CCJ (Constitution and Justice commission) of the Senate, Davi Alcolumbre (União Brasil-AP).

Faced with Dino’s favoritism to replace Rosa, Lula’s allies have already begun to move to occupy the Ministry of Justice. This opened a new dispute over the design of the portfolio and the minister’s succession. Flávio Dino’s PSB wants to preserve the nomination and is already preparing to resist the PT’s offensive.

If Dino goes to the STF, the names of Paulo Cappelli, executive secretary of the ministry, Augusto de Arruda Botelho, National Secretary of Justice, and Marco Aurélio de Carvalho, a lawyer close to the PT, appear as possibilities to take over Justice.

In the PGR, Bigonha has the support of PT members, but does not have the support of STF ministers. A wing of the Supreme Court and the government itself started calling him Rodrigo Janot of the left, in reference to the PGR of the Lava Jato years.

Both Bigonha and Gonet are not part of the triple list drawn up by the ANPR (National Association of Public Prosecutors). The president has said in recent months that he does not intend to follow the list, citing Lava Jato’s “irresponsibility” as the reason.

If he appoints a PGR from outside the triple list, Lula will repeat Bolsonaro’s gesture. Aras was also not on the ANPR list when he was selected by the former president.