how were the opening speeches of the judiciary year after 8/1

The President of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Rosa Weber, said this Wednesday (1st) that the depredation of the Court’s headquarters building, on January 8, did not affect the democratic regime and the defense of the Constitution. She also promised punishment to those involved in the acts of vandalism on January 8, guaranteeing the broad right to defense. And she called the attack on the STF a “coup”.

The declaration was given during the solemnity for the reopening of the judicial year, in the plenary of the headquarters of the STF, rebuilt after the depredation of the beginning of last month.

“They did not destroy the spirit of democracy. They have not been and will never be able to subvert it, because the feeling of respect for the democratic order continues and will continue to illuminate the minds and hearts of the judges of this Supreme Court, who will not hesitate to always make the ethical and political foundations that inform and give support for the Democratic Rule of Law”, said Rosa Weber.

In her speech, the President of the STF condemned the attacks on the Court. She called the act a “criminal invasion” by an “insane mob driven by hatred and irrationality”. “A coup-like and ignoble attack, directed with greater virulence against this Supreme Court, surely because, by making the authority of the Constitution prevail in its jurisdictional action, it opposes all sorts of autocratic pretensions”, said the president of the STF.

The acts of vandalism, he repeated several times, not only did not undermine democracy and institutions, but also, in the case of the STF, “resulted in enhancing the dignity of Justice, and in strengthening the irreplaceable value of the democratic principle, never in the degradation of the Judicial power”. “The physical facilities of a Court may even be destroyed, but over them hovers – and remains unscathed –, the Judiciary Power institution in its high mission of saying and making Law effective, making life in society viable, realizing the value of Justice. ”

At the beginning of the ceremony, a video was shown with images of the invasion and the work of civil servants and technicians who repaired the damage. “The values ​​that inform the jurisdictional activity of this House will never be affected or subjugated by barbarism, nor will its judges feel intimidated by barbarism,” said the minister.

Afterwards, he said that if they wanted to destroy the STF a thousand times, a thousand and one times it would be rebuilt. “Even if they wanted to destroy the Federal Supreme Court a thousand times, the feeling of reverence of this House for the Democratic State of Law would remain unimpaired, and a thousand and one times we would rebuild its building, as we have done now, without interrupting for a single moment the exercise of jurisdiction, thanks to to the tenacity of those who respect institutions and love democracy,” he said.

In the final part of the speech, he said that those involved in the act will be held accountable, with respect to full defense and contradictory. “Those who conceived it, those who practiced it, those who inspired it and those who financed it will be held accountable with the rigor of the law in the different spheres. Only in this way will the constitutional order be reaffirmed, always in compliance with due legal process, safeguarding, for all those involved, the guarantees of adversarial proceedings and ample defense, as required and provided for in criminal proceedings of a democratic nature.”

In the presence of Lula and Pacheco, Rosa Weber talks about the union of powers

At the conclusion of her speech, Rosa Weber defended the union and harmony between the powers. “The criminal and cowardly attack that vilified the institutions of the Republic and the symbols of the Democratic State of Law gives greater intensity to the necessarily harmonious coexistence between the powers that make up the Brazilian State, strengthening the national communion around the nuclear and non-derogable principle that privileges and enshrines among us the prevalence of the democratic idea, which cannot be transgressed or defiled”, said the minister.

Present at the opening ceremony of the judicial year were President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT); vice-president, Geraldo Alckmin (PSB); the President of the Senate and Congress, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG); the Attorney General of the Republic, Augusto Aras, all 11 ministers of the STF, in addition to members of other higher courts and government authorities.

Lula criticizes Bolsonaro government and praises STF

The last one to speak at the ceremony, Lula said that he felt “deeply indignant” when he visited the STF on the 8th, at night, after the withdrawal of the invaders. “Neither I, nor you, ladies and gentlemen, could have imagined the escalation of attacks on institutions and democracy in recent years, which culminated in the barbaric attack on the headquarters of the three Powers,” he said.

“Violence and hatred showed their most absurd face, terror. It was not an episode of spontaneous generation, but of repeated attacks against the Constitution, with the objective of sustaining an authoritarian project of power. It was the toughest test of democracy since 1988,” he added.

Lula also praised the STF for the “courageous decisions” of the ministers “to face and stop the setback, denialism and political violence”, in an indirect criticism of the government of his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro, who, according to him, revealed “inaction” in the pandemic.

Still in a critical reference to the previous government, he said that “what happened in this country was the result of disbelief in politics, in Congress, in the Executive or elsewhere”. “Never again should anyone dare to doubt the policy of this country or doubt the policy.”

Afterwards, he defended union between the Powers. “The Brazilian people do not want conflicts between institutions. He does not want aggression, intimidation or the silence of the powers that be. The Brazilian people really want and need a lot of work, dedication and efforts from the Three Powers to rebuild Brazil.”