This story of Banco Master and STF will last all year. I can leave aside the details and now focus on a more abstract subject. With hindsight, I see that Operation Lava-Jato demoralized politics and contributed to the rise of a radical right proposition. What would happen if current events led to the demoralization of the judiciary, particularly the Supreme Court?
- Economy: The PF will decide the confrontation after the testimony of Vorcaro, director of the BC and former president of the BRB
I imagine that some of the thousands of people calling for a code of conduct for the STF are concerned about this. With a clear set of rules, it would become more difficult to break them and, even independently of them, a strong shield would be built for an organization that would have the final say on all our issues.
- State: Correios’ recovery plan provides for the closure of a thousand agencies and the dismissal of 15,000 employees
It’s a good idea, which brings together the current president of the STF, lawyers and an enlightened section of public opinion. However, it would be more effective if it created an independent body to monitor and sanction violations of the code of conduct. It would be even more effective to recover article 144 of the Code of Civil Procedure, annulled by the Supreme Court itself, which stipulated that the judge would be prevented from trying a case when the party is a client of a law firm where the judge’s spouse, partner or relative works, even if that lawyer is not in the main case. Judging by recent history, this is the big problem, much bigger than trips or parties abroad supported by companies interested in cases pending before the courts.
The famous fake news investigation, which led to an endless investigation, arose from the problem of relatives. The IRS investigated the accounts of Gilmar Mendes’ wife and those of Dias Toffoli’s wife. Information on the subject has been leaked. Toffoli, who was president at the time, appointed Moraes to lead the investigation. I remember at the time they censored Crusoe magazine and I wrote an article protesting.
The problem no longer repeats itself only with Toffoli, who has completely lost track, forgoing billion-dollar debts and traveling everywhere for free, even with Banco Master lawyers to attend the Libertadores final. The focus now is on Alexandre de Moraes, whose wife had a contract worth around 130 million reais with Master. He is accused of having tried to intervene with the Central Bank to prevent the liquidation. If, a few years ago, Moraes undertook an investigation to save Gilmar’s wife and that of Toffoli from tax control, it is now Toffoli who is in charge of the investigation into Banco Master and who will certainly do many acrobatics, because he has completely lost his sense of reason.
Politicians didn’t get lost in Brazil just because they needed money for their campaigns. This was just the starting point. They lost themselves because of greed. Interestingly, the German newspaper Handelsblatt claims, in an article about Brazil’s Supreme Court, that the judges have gone astray because of greed. It is difficult to believe the thesis that greed has ruined politics and justice in our country. This would mean that our story is mediocre, predictable and vulgar. It would be devastating for all of us who spend part of our time trying to understand and analyze it.
New Year’s Eve can bring surprises and good news. In the political domain, the series of scandals brought a melancholy end to the year 2025.
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