After being nominated by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for a vacant position on the Federal Supreme Court, Attorney General Jorge Mesías has received strong electoral support in his search for support in the Senate, which needs to approve the selection. Court ministers Andre Mendonça and Cassio Nunes Márquez, who were appointed to the court by Jair Bolsonaro, called on opposition parliamentarians to defend Messias’ approval.
Mendonça personally entered the field to assist with the nomination. According to reports, in calls he made in recent days to at least five senators, most of them from the opposition that supported him in 2021, Mendonça stated that Messias “is not a radical,” and highlighted that the prosecutor has an artistic and religious portfolio. According to the parliamentarians, the minister stressed that Messias does not represent an automatic increase in the government’s influence in court and that his path in the Senate and in the world of law is strong enough to guarantee independence. Cassio Nunes Márquez will also act in the same way, according to allies of Lula’s candidate.
Messias is also already working, calling and meeting with senators.
The action comes amid pressure imposed by Senate President Davi Alcolombre (Uniao-AP) when setting the hearing date for December 10, compressing Planalto’s time to build support. With only nine days between the reading of the presidential message and the hearing, the government lost room for Messias to visit its offices and speak individually with senators – a move deemed necessary after the resistance caused by the way Lula handled the nomination.
On the other hand, the Messias government and its allies are trying to postpone this session and buy more time. The action is an attempt to persuade the Chairman of the Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ) to accept changing the date.
—I don’t have the ability to uncheck it, but there are many people who think it’s too high — government leader Jacques Wagner (PT-BA) told GLOBO.
Messias continues to tour the Senate and has several meetings scheduled for Wednesday, including with one of his key allies in the House of Representatives, Senator Elisian Gama (PSD-MA).
The attack comes in the context of political intensification. The decision to quickly organize the hearing by Alcumbrí, who favored Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG) for the vacant position, was seen by the leaders as a way to “call a fight” and increase friction with Planalto. The opposition, enraged by the conviction of Jair Bolsonaro, sees the vote as an opportunity to expose the government’s weaknesses and intends to use the short term as an element of pressure.
In this environment, government supporters acknowledge that Lula will have to personally intervene to persuade centrist senators and parliamentarians who felt ignored in the selection process.