Lewandowski’s favorite has a 2-decade relationship with the minister – 04/12/2023 – Power

When Ricardo Lewandowski was sworn in as minister of the STF (Federal Supreme Court), in March 2006, he included the Bahian lawyer Manoel Carlos de Almeida Neto among his first advisors.

Manoel Carlos, who has been legal director of Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional since 2016, was also one of the guests for a restricted dinner with Lewandowski on March 29 of this year, the day before the minister announced the date of his retirement from the Supreme Court.

This proximity of nearly two decades has been seen as an asset in favor of the appointment of the 43-year-old lawyer to the court in the vacancy opened with the minister’s retirement, which took place on Tuesday (11).

For supporters of an eventual nomination, Manoel Carlos would represent Lewandowski’s legacy at court.

People close to president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva consider that the minister was the only member of the STF appointed by the PT who was faithful to the party at all times, including in situations of pressure from the press and the opposition, such as the monthly allowance.

Despite Lewandowski’s opinion, the choice will come from Lula himself, who has shown preference for lawyer Cristiano Zanin Martins, defender of the PT in actions of Operation Lava Jato.

Support for Manoel Carlos is also being resisted by a wing of the Supreme Court, which questions whether the lawyer has a background for the court, and by a number of Lula’s allies who prefer Zanin.

But Zanin’s academic background, which has only an undergraduate degree, is seen as a demerit in relation to Manoel’s, with a doctorate.

The sectors that support Manoel Carlos also point to the fact that Zanin was Lula’s private lawyer as a point of resistance in the Senate, which will have to approve the nomination, in addition to the impediment in judging cases in which he acted in Lava Jato.

On the 30th, Lewandowski announced his retirement just over a month before his 75th birthday, the deadline for a minister to join the plenary of the Supreme Court.

Speaking to journalists, he said only that his successor needs to be “faithful to the Constitution”, to fundamental rights and guarantees.

“And you need, first of all, to be courageous: to face the enormous pressures that a minister of the Federal Supreme Court has to face in his daily life”, he said.

Behind the scenes, Lewandowski has been paying lip service to his former aide in recent months.

Manoel Carlos met the now retired minister and his wife, Yara, in 2002, at a human rights congress in Bahia. The magistrate was, at the time, judge of the Court of Justice of São Paulo.

Manoel himself hadn’t even passed the OAB exam yet. Born and raised in Ilhéus, in the south of Bahia, he comes from a family linked to the cocoa monoculture and traditions of the municipality.

His grandfather, from whom he inherited the name and was always close, was president of the city’s historical institute. As a teenager, Manoel Carlos surfed on the beaches of the region, which is known for practicing the sport.

Before moving to Brasília, he was attorney general in Itacaré, a city in Bahia close to Ilhéus, and a professor at a public university in the south of the state.

With the confidence of the magistrate, he held the positions of general secretary of the presidency of the TSE (Superior Electoral Court) and of the Supreme Court.

In parallel to the positions he held at the Supreme Court, Manoel Carlos built an academic career with a master’s degree at UFBA (Federal University of Bahia) and a doctorate at USP.

In addition to Lewandowski, there is Edvaldo Brito, professor emeritus at UFBA, tax lawyer and former mayor of Salvador, as another legal influence. As a favorite of Lewandowski himself, Manoel Carlos had accompanied the minister in a series of events since Lula’s inauguration.

The years in Brasilia also brought Manoel Carlos closer to people related to both law and politics, and he is known to move in different circles.

Interlocutors have refuted criticism of his preparation for the court, pointing out that on several occasions Manoel Carlos’ works were cited by Supreme Court justices in judgments of important actions related to the Constitution, such as ADIs (direct action of unconstitutionality).

The dinner with Lewandowski before the announcement of his retirement also led to heated discussions in the Prerogativas WhatsApp group, made up of lawyers close to the government.

Part of the group has supported the names of lawyers Lenio Streck and Pedro Serrano for the Supreme Court.

The group’s coordinator, Marco Aurélio Carvalho, was also at the dinner with Lewandowski and Manoel Carlos and has said that he supports any candidate nominated by Lula.

In the group, Marco Aurélio defended Manoel from critics who said he was not well known. “Manoel is not unknown. At least for many of those who fought against the media spectacle of the criminal action 470 [mensalão]”, he wrote.

“I was there, I can and must give my testimony. Nor is he unknown to those who fought against the excesses of Operation Lava Jato. Nor is he unknown to those who circulate in academia,” he added. “Just as Zanin is not unknown to President Lula.”

In addition to Zanin and Manoel Carlos, the president of the TCU (Union Court of Auditors), Bruno Dantas, is one of the names quoted for nomination to the STF.