What pushed Gilmar Mendes to reverse the decision that made it difficult to dismiss STF ministers

Two points of the Senate project which modifies the impeachment law aroused the concern of Minister Gilmar Mendes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), and led him to accept a tactical retreat, suspend part of the decision that made it difficult to process requests for impeachment from members of the Court.

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This Wednesday (10), Gilmar I returned to the most controversial point of the injunction he himself issued last week: which only guaranteed the Office of the Attorney General (PGR) the power to launch impeachment requests against STF ministers, removing a right guaranteed to every Brazilian citizen, including parliamentarians.

As the blog reported, the minister reached an agreement with former Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG) and current Speaker of the House, Davi Alcolumbre (União Brasil-AP), postponing the result until next year, as three sources who closely follow the discussions reported to the chronicle team.

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Gilmar was convinced to back down after realizing that the text on the amendments to the impeachment law, whose report will be analyzed by the Senate Commission on the Constitution and Justice (CCJ) the same Wednesday, not only deprives the prerogative of the Senate presidency to “retain” the requests for dismissal of magistrates, but also sets a deadline of 15 days for them to be analyzed in plenary.

And the worst for the Supreme Court: the text still creates the possibility of appealing to the plenary if the President of the Senate files a request for impeachment – which does not exist today. In this case, 54 votes, or two-thirds of the senators, are necessary to cancel the filing of the request and move it forward.

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In other words: the project discussed in the Senate opens gaps so that the Bolsonarist riot police can circumvent the resistance of Alcolumbre, considered today as a sort of “protective barrier” for Minister Alexandre de Moraes, record holder for impeachment requests filed in the House.

In practice, this could make the STF even more vulnerable in a scenario projected by various political forces with a conservative majority in the Senate after the October 2026 elections, when ⅔ of the House will be renewed.

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In recent years, the Supreme Court has relied on the protection of Pacheco and Alcolumbre, who have shelved the more than 80 impeachment petitions currently pending against members of the Court – 33 of them were filed this year alone.

As part of the agreement reached away from the spotlight, during this Wednesday’s CCJ session, the project’s rapporteur, Senator Weverton Rocha (PDT-MA), an ally of Alcolumbre, requested the postponement of the vote, which was ultimately postponed until next year.

“First, we are moving away from this minor discussion about the making of the law to discussing the recently issued injunction. That is not the purpose of the law, much less its spirit. And we will all be more mature and convinced,” Weverton explained.

“Because it’s not just going to be the accelerator, the steamroller that’s going to solve it, because this law is not for me, it’s not for him and it’s not for you: it’s a state law, for the future. So we have to have responsibility in implementing this law.”

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After the movement of Weverton – himself a very close ally of Alcolumbre and Pacheco – Gilmar withdrew from the virtual plenary the trial scheduled for this Friday (12), during which the STF would decide to confirm or deny its agreement.

Last week’s decision caused unease within the Court and raised doubts about the dean’s ability to secure the endorsement of five additional colleagues to support it.

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In addition to returning to the question of the PGR monopoly, Gilmar placed the file in physical plenary, so that ministers can analyze the question during a face-to-face session which has not yet been scheduled by the president of the STF, Edson Fachin. There is no prediction as to when this will happen. The most likely today is that the subject will no longer be discussed.

In his decision, Gilmar praised Alcolumbre and Pacheco by making “some brief considerations” about their role at the helm of the Senate. He stressed that both adopted a “cautious and balanced position”, demonstrating “an adequate perception of the traumatic potentials, from an institutional point of view” that result from the opening of impeachment proceedings against ministers of the Supreme Court.

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He highlighted that Alcolumbre, during his first term as Senate President, from 2019 to 2021, analyzed 36 impeachment requests against STF ministers.

“On all these occasions, His Excellency, demonstrating great civic spirit, acute institutional perception, prudence and remarkable civic courage, decided to suspend the initiatives, preserving, with firmness and responsibility, the stability of republican institutions and the independence of the judiciary,” Gilmar wrote.

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He also highlighted that Pacheco, in the four years he led the House, from 2021 to 2025, adopted the same behavior, showing “remarkable zeal and balance in the analysis of requests.”

“Even in the face of the request made by the then President of the Republic, His Excellency, in a calm and fluid manner, adopted a position of institutional preservation, determining the archiving and thus reaffirming his commitment to the Federal Constitution, the independence of the judiciary and the stability of state institutions,” he said, in reference to the request for impeachment of Jair Bolsonaro against Alexandre de Moraes, presented in August 2021.

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At the time, Bolsonaro made the request after Moraes included him in the fake news investigation, which ultimately ended the siege against the former president and his allies.

Gilmar’s injunction last week was interpreted behind the scenes of the Court as a sort of “vaccine” for next year’s elections – and creating a shield for the STF against right-wing efforts to elect as many senators as possible, precisely to achieve a quorum in the Senate for the impeachment of STF ministers.