Zanin is Lula’s favorite for the STF, but Bruno Dantas has support from Calheiros

With about two months left for the compulsory retirement of Minister Ricardo Lewandowski, the race for the chair of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) has already won the corridors of the Planalto Palace. So far, at least three names are seen as the most quoted for the nomination of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT).

Among the main candidates for the vacancy are Cristiano Zanin, who acted as Lula’s lawyer, Bruno Dantas, president of the Federal Court of Auditors (TCU), who resisted the audit of electronic voting machines by the military during the management of former president Jair Bolsonaro ( PL), and Manoel Carlos de Almeida Neto, a protégé of Lewandowski.

The choice of Lewandowski’s replacement is seen as strategic by members of the PT, who see in the vacancy the possibility of keeping a name in line with the guidelines adopted by the party. In addition to the minister himself, who turns 75 in May, Lula has been talking to allies, such as the national president of the PT, deputy Gleisi Hoffmann (PR), and the minister of the Civil House, Rui Costa.

Seen as a name of Lula’s personal choice, lawyer Cristiano Zanin, who acted in the PT’s Lava Jato cases, gained strength among the allies of the Planalto Palace. In addition to proximity to the president, Zanin fulfills the age criterion, defended by PT members for choosing the next minister. The lawyer is 47 years old and, if nominated and passed by the Senate, could stay up to 28 years on the Court.

“Today, if I nominated Zanin, everyone would understand that he deserved to be nominated. Technically he has grown in an extraordinary way. He is my friend, my companion, as others are my companions”, defended Lula in an interview with the radio. Band News FM.

Zanin’s proximity to Lula may hinder the nomination in the Senate

The proximity to Lula, however, is seen as an obstacle for Zanin to pass the Senate’s scrutiny. The nominee by the PT will have to be approved by a simple majority of senators. That is, he needs at least 41 of the 81 votes.

As a result, members of the government believe that Zanin’s nomination can be used by senators to target the president or to expand the bargain in negotiations with the Planalto office for positions. In the calculations, PT members believe that the president would need to spend a very large amount of political capital in the same period in which the government will be discussing issues such as tax reform and the new fiscal framework.

Until then, Zanin has been moving behind the scenes to build support for his name. Recently, for example, he was at the launch of a book by Minister Gilmar Mendes, in Brasília, where he spoke with several authorities present. Last week, during an interview on the program “Roda Viva”, on TV CulturaMinister Cármen Lúcia addressed the possibility of Lula appointing a lawyer to the Court.

“The President of the Republic has the right to choose and to fulfill his attribution of being the competent authority for that appointment of the Minister of the Supreme, with absolute respect for the decision that is taken. I do not think that the circumstance of being a lawyer that was his lawyer [Lula] or someone known to him in any way compromises the nominee or possible new minister,” he said.

Senator Sergio Moro (União Brasil-PR) criticized the possibility of Zanin’s nomination to the STF and questioned the lack of impersonality of Lula’s eventual choice. “A good summary of the Lula Government so far: attack on the state-owned law for political allotment, wives of ministers in the Courts of Auditors and the desire to have a lawyer and personal friend in the STF. Where is the impersonality? How is the independence of the institutions ? We will be watching”, said Moro, through social networks, on Sunday (12).

TCU President Bruno Dantas has the support of Renan Calheiros in the Senate

Another name that has gained strength behind the scenes is the president of the Federal Court of Auditors (TCU), Bruno Dantas. Like Zanin, Dantas meets the age criterion, as he is 45 years old and could stay up to 30 years in the STF.

In addition, Dantas has the sympathy of several senators, including Renan Calheiros (MDB-AL). Close to Lula, the emedebist is one of the main articulators for the TCU president to be nominated for Lewandowski’s seat on the STF.

Bruno Dantas served as general consultant to the Senate between 2007 and 2011, a period in which he created proximity with Calheiros and other MDB chiefs. The relationship guaranteed him a nomination for the TCU in the vacancy destined for the Senate, in 2014. His name was approved in plenary by 47 votes among the 60 senators who were present at the session.

PT members believe that, at the head of the TCU, Dantas had a firm stance when the military asked to audit the electronic ballot boxes in the 2022 elections.

“The previous three rounds of this integrated audit revealed a few things: First, the voting machines are auditable. Second, electronic voting machines are reliable. Third: the electronic ballot boxes are transparent”, said Dantas at the time.

Still according to PT leaders, the president of TCU has a guarantor profile, one of the characteristics that please the Planalto. However, they estimate that perhaps the proximity to members of the Senate could generate a certain distrust among the other Powers.

Former STF advisor, Almeida Neto has Lewandowski’s own commitment

On the outside, lawyer Manoel Carlos de Almeida Neto has had the support of Ricardo Lewandowski himself. Behind the scenes, his profile is seen as a discreet and balanced name with good political influence and within the STF itself. At 43 years old, he could stay for more than three decades at Court.

The lawyer served as secretary general of the STF during Lewandowski’s presidency, between 2016 and 2018, and was his chief of staff. In recent weeks, he and the magistrate began to circulate together at various events in Brasília, such as a gastronomic event that took place after the launch of the book by Minister Gilmar Mendes in the STF library.

In addition, Almeida Neto has the support of the Prerogativas group, which has influence over the legal area of ​​the Lula government. Last month, the lawyer attended a dinner promoted by the group in order to pave support for his name among members of Prerogativas itself.

On the other hand, members of the PT assess that Almeida Neto’s performance as head of the legal department at Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN) could be an obstacle to the nomination. Among other points, PT members believe that his appointment could imply a possible conflict of interest in actions related to the company in the Supreme Court.

Barroso’s retirement may open Lula’s third nomination in the STF

In addition to Lewandowski’s vacancy in May, Lula will also have the right to nominate the successor of the current president of the STF, Minister Rosa Weber, who turns 75 in October. The expectation is that the vacancy will be filled by a black woman. This movement is supported by sectors of the government, such as Minister Aniele Franco (Racial Equality) and Minister Silvio Almeida (Human Rights).

The idea was also defended by Minister Edson Fachin, of the STF. On March 8, Fachin congratulated ministers Rosa Weber and Carmen Lúcia on Women’s Day, and mentioned a possible future minister. “I ask permission to greet a 4th minister, who, who knows, a place in the future will place in this plenary. A black woman”, declared the minister.

At the same time, Planalto allies are already working with the possibility of a third nomination for Minister Luís Roberto Barroso. The magistrate will assume the presidency of the Court in October this year and should remain in office until the end of 2025. There is a possibility that Barroso will anticipate his retirement after that period.

“I can choose three, possibly two, it depends if there is an anticipation of retirement. It can always happen. But the criteria will be the same. First: notorious legal knowledge, because the choice is not for me. It is for the nation. The guy has to comply with the Constitution,” Lula told radio Band News FM.

In the current composition of the STF, three names were indicated by Lula: Dias Toffoli, in 2009; Cármen Lúcia and Ricardo Lewandowski, both in 2006. Former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) already nominated Nunes Marques, in 2020; and André Mendonça, in 2021.

After Lewandowski and Rosa Weber, the next minister to retire is Luiz Fux, in 2028, already in the next presidential term. He was appointed to the Court by former President Dilma Rousseff (PT) in 2011.