Zanin leaves conflicts for the comfort of the STF chair – 06/21/2023 – Bruno Boghossian

Cristiano Zanin spent no energy getting rid of Lula’s “personal lawyer” credential. It would be a futile effort. After being classified by the president himself as a friend and companion, the next minister of the STF agreed to move to the court with that label.

Without denying the proximity, Zanin sought another path. During the eight hours on Saturday, the lawyer argued that living with Lula did not create a relationship of subordination, but allowed the president to be certain that he would be a minister who would be guided “exclusively by the Constitution.”

Zanin will have the privilege of proving his positions from the comfort of a STF chair. As in almost every Saturday, Lula’s nominee was spared from presenting blunt interpretations of the legislation and ended up approved for the vacancy without having to give an opinion on thorny issues.

Questioned by the opposition, the future minister said that drugs are “an evil that needs to be fought”, but did not want to take sides on the decriminalization of possession. He jumped out of a discussion on abortion by recognizing the “right to life” as a fundamental guarantee, with the provisions already existing in the law.

In practice, Zanin only postponed some inevitable conflicts until after the inauguration. In the STF, he will have to show whether caution brings him closer to a conservative view of the Constitution (which leaves changes in interpretation in the hands of Congress) or to the Lula left (which preferred a notorious “progressive” in the vacancy).

The future minister abandoned balance when citing the broad right of defense as a pillar of his work. Zanin then played the music that pleases the groups that witnessed the excesses of Lava Jato.

Even that vision will be tested for its reach only after Zanin is in office. On Saturday, he attacked the so-called “fishing expedition” – speculative collection of evidence used by Alexandre de Moraes and targeted by Bolsonarists. The new minister will show whether he considers the practice illegal or whether it would be valid in exceptional cases.

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