Lula’s evangelical minister gains strength for a vacancy in the STF – 06/24/2023 – Power

The name of the attorney general of the Union, Jorge Messias, gained strength in the list of candidates for the vacancy of the STF (Federal Supreme Court) that should open in October with the retirement of minister Rosa Weber, current president of the court.

Last Wednesday (21), the Senate confirmed the nomination of Cristiano Zanin, a lawyer and friend of the president, to occupy a seat on the court – this is the first vacancy opened in the Lula (PT) government.

In choosing the next vacancy, despite appeals from the base and members of the government itself for Lula to take gender criteria into account, there are no women on the current list of favorites.

Other names in the running are the presidents of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), and of the TCU (Union Court of Auditors), Bruno Dantas, in addition to the ministers of the STJ (Superior Court of Justice) Luís Felipe Salomão and Benedito Gonçalves —the latter also a minister of the TSE (Superior Electoral Court).

In addition to them, Minister Flávio Dino (Justice) is appointed as an option, due to his career in the Judiciary and his exposure to the portfolio.

According to allies, Lula will have to take into account the same attributes as the first one when choosing Rosa’s seat: young, loyal, not afraid to face issues that generate wear and tear in public opinion and with whom the president is free to talk directly.

Lula’s assistants believe that Messias meets these requirements and has another relevant asset, which is the fact that he is an evangelical. He was scheduled to participate in the March for Jesus in the name of Lula, after the PT member declined the invitation to attend the event.

Messias has rejected speculations about his name. In private conversations, he says that members of the government should not use their positions to stand out in the race for vacancies; and that the decision is Lula’s exclusive. He attributes the release of his name to friendly fire.

If he chooses Messias, the president would signal to an electorate closely linked to Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and who was contemplated by the former president in choosing André Mendonça for the Supreme Court.

Defenders of other candidates expect Lula to signal to the Senate and the political class, choosing a name that is not primarily part of his personal quota — as was Zanin and would be the case for Messias.

However, allies of the president say that the disappointment with Supreme Court appointees who authorized his arrest and the advance of Lava Jato generated a preference for trust as the main parameter of choice.

This is a different process from the one used by Lula himself and by former President Dilma Rousseff in previous PT mandates.

Minister Cármen Lúcia, for example, was chosen by Lula due to the support of former minister Sepúlveda Pertence and other relevant politicians, such as former president Itamar Franco.

People close to Lula say he regrets it, since the magistrate gave favorable decisions to Lava Jato and voted for the arrest of the petista.

The same analysis applies to Dilma’s choices by Ministers Luís Roberto Barroso and Luiz Fux. The assessment is that both were guarantors in the STF of former judge Sergio Moro, author of the decision that determined Lula’s arrest.

The president has told people close to him that he considers Messiah efficient and discreet in office. He assesses that the lawyer obtained important achievements with the higher courts, but does not make a fuss about them.

One of the examples is the way out of the controversy of ferrogrão, in addition to its role in the legal measures adopted in response to the coup attacks on January 8.

Prosecutor of the National Treasury, Messias was Deputy Chief of Legal Affairs of the Civil House in the Dilma government.

He became known nationally as “Bessias” in 2016, in the episode of the leak of a Lava Jato wiretapping, authorized by the then judge Moro. Although there was no irregularity in the former assistant’s conduct, the audio leak recalls one of the moments of greatest rejection of PT governments.

Afterwards, Messias occupied the chief of staff of the leader of the government in the Senate, Jaques Wagner (PT-BA). Although he is mainly linked to Dilma and Aloizio Mercadante, the current president of the BNDES, Messias has been gaining more and more of Lula’s trust, say people close to the president.

Already in favor of Bruno Dantas, some decisions that the TCU took to contain irregularities in the Bolsonaro government weigh. In 2022, for example, the court recommended Caixa Econômica to suspend the Auxílio Brasil payroll loan.

Dantas also always adopted a combative stance against former prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol and Moro, in addition to being critical of Lava Jato.

Since the government’s transition period, Lula and the TCU minister have been together in public events and on at least three private occasions, something that is seen as an attempt to get closer.

Salomão, from the STJ, has the support of Minister Alexandre de Moraes, president of the TSE. Lula has Moraes in high regard for the magistrate’s attitude towards the investigations he conducts that target Bolsonaro.

Salomão also has good transit with higher court ministers and politicians. The STJ magistrate has also acted against Lava Jato at the CNJ (National Council of Justice), where he is an inspector.

Benedito Gonçalves is also named as one of the candidates for the vacancy. Lula’s allies think that this hypothesis would only be taken into account if he committed to leaving the STF in early 2026 and giving the president the possibility of making a third nomination.

That’s because he is 69 years old. Lula does not intend to choose someone who cannot stay at court for a longer period.

Gonçalves has been a frequent presence since 2003 on the lists of favorites to the STF in PT governments. Recently, he gained unprecedented prominence by becoming the TSE rapporteur for the action that could lead Bolsonaro to ineligibility.

The minister has been the electoral general inspector since last September. During the election, he made a series of decisions that pleased Lula.

Pacheco, president of the Senate, has been telling allies that he wants to go to the STF. Removing him from the Senate, however, could be a risk for the president.

Although with less chances, two women quoted for the post and who have sympathy from Lula are the jurists Carol Proner and Gisele Cittadino. Both have a good curriculum and are close to the PT. There are also the names of Adriana Cruz and Vera Lúcia Araújo, who are black women. USP professor Maria Paula Dallari and judge Simone Schreiber are also mentioned.

Who appointed each minister and when did they retire

GOVERNMENT 2023-2026

• Rosa Weber (Oct.23) – nominated by Dilma Rousseff in 2011

GOVERNMENT 2027-2030

• Luiz Fux (Apr.28) – nominated by Dilma Rousseff in 2011
• Cármen Lúcia (Apr.29) – nominated by Lula in 2006
• Gilmar Mendes (Dec.30) – nominated by Fernando Henrique Cardoso in 2002

GOVERNMENT 2031-2034

• Edson Fachin (Feb.33) – nominated by Dilma Rousseff in 2015
• Luís Roberto Barroso (mar.33) – nominated by Dilma Rousseff in 2013

GOVERNMENT 2039-2042

• Dias Toffoli (Nov.42) – nominated by Lula in 2009

GOVERNMENT 2043-2046

• Alexandre de Moraes (Dec.43) – nominated by Michel Temer in 2017

GOVERNMENT 2047-2050

• Kassio Nunes Marques (May 47) – nominated by Bolsonaro in 2020
• André Mendonça (Dec.47) – nominated by Bolsonaro in 2021
• Cristiano Zanin (Nov.50) – nominated by Lula in 2023