The Congress that tried to protect itself against justice’s decisions, and only failed to do so because Brazilians took to the streets to protest, is the same Congress that is now condemning the Federal Supreme Court for trying to protect its ministers against impeachment motions.
There are 46 motions to impeach Supreme Court ministers in the Senate, which are currently shelved. Under the current 1950 law, any citizen has the right to ask the Senate to sanction ministers of the higher courts. That’s up to the Senate to decide.
If it depends on Gilmar Mendes, the Supreme Minister, it will not be so soon. He wants this right to be limited to the Attorney General of the Republic, who is the head of the Federal Public Prosecution and represents the authority before the supreme courts.
Among the duties of the Attorney General of the Republic are to order investigations, monitor the Constitution and federal laws, promote criminal proceedings against authorities with privileged jurisdiction, and act in defense of the interests of society.
David Alcolombre, President of the Senate, accuses Gilmar Mendes of trying to usurp the rights of his peers. It is a right they never use against corrupt ministers, but they use it as a bargaining chip when they feel threatened by anything.
This is the lowest-quality Congress since the end of the military dictatorship in 1964, and by contrast, it is the strongest. It is also the most corrupt. About 200 of its members are being investigated for embezzling public funds.
The right and extreme right do not hide the fact that their goal in 2026 is to elect the largest number of representatives and senators to increase their influence in negotiations with the government and the Supreme Court. In the Senate, out of every three seats, two will be contested.
This is exactly where the dream of those advocating a pardon for Bolsonaro and other coup plotters lives. If they increase their advantage in the Senate, Bolsonaro could be released, although he would remain ineligible until he turns 105.
What Gilmar Mendes proposed will be evaluated by his colleagues on the court in a virtual session of the Supreme Court scheduled to be held from 12 to 19 this month.
All columns from Noblat’s blog at Metropoles