The president of , (-AP), has insisted on (-MG) to the (Supreme Federal Court) and made it clear that he does not intend to make efforts to have , the attorney general of the Union, , approved.
The uncertainty about the nomination has made Pacheco wait for the outcome before deciding his political future, in addition to holding negotiations around a new party for a possible dispute for the Government of Minas Gerais, a candidacy encouraged by Lula to have a platform in the state.
Privately, the senators’ assessment is that Alcolumbre should neither help nor hinder Messias. Parliamentarians also think it is unlikely that the president of the Senate will stretch the rope with Lula holding the hearing for months, in 2021 on the nomination of André Mendonça.
The message was transmitted directly to the PT member, according to reports, during a private meeting on the 20th. Alcolumbre told the president that he will not be able to work in favor of the approval of Messias because his feeling in doing so will be that of betrayal of a friend — Pacheco.
Despite the well-known friendship between Pacheco and Alcolumbre, senators today echo their colleague’s name and say that it is not just the president of the Senate who is keen that the Minas Gerais native be the next minister of the Supreme Court. Two important names in the House state, with reservations, that they will even vote in favor of Messiah, but will not ask for votes.
Parliamentarians say that the President of the Republic needs to understand that for the first time in history the Senate has the opportunity to have a former president of the House on the STF. One leader says that Lula wouldn’t even make any nominations now, if it weren’t for .
Even Pacheco’s complex political situation in Minas Gerais has been cited. While the senator will run for governor in 2026, as Lula wants, his party, PSD, has defined that the candidate will be Romeu Zema’s vice-governor (Novo).
During the week, an ally of Pacheco said that the episode could be used as a trump card in the race for the Supreme Court and advised him not to look for another party for now. Pacheco, he continued, had his party practically taken over — making a potential candidacy for government even more difficult.
The senator’s interlocutors admit that he will not negotiate his affiliation with any political party before Lula decides on the next Supreme Court minister.
Senators from the base also discuss the lack of a platform for the PT in Minas (second largest electoral college in the country) in next year’s elections.
If there is a lack of center or left-wing gubernatorial candidates willing to support the PT member in the state, they say, Pacheco cannot be blamed for that. For his colleagues, it is already more than clear that the senator has no desire to be governor, as the president would like.
Despite the Senate’s preference for Pacheco, Lula’s aides estimate that the discontent with Messias will only last until the day the nomination is formalized. They also state that the Union’s attorney general understands the senators’ mobilization and is calm.
Initially, Lula intended to nominate the minister for the STF before traveling to Asia. After the meeting with Alcolumbre on the 20th, the president.
According to people close to the PT member, Lula still intends to nominate Messias for Barroso’s seat, but first wants to speak personally to Pacheco. The conversation should also involve next year’s elections, where the president currently depends on the senator’s candidacy for the Minas Gerais government.
Barroso could remain in the Supreme Court until 2033, when he turns 75, but he announced his retirement on the 9th. The next President of the Republic will have the opportunity to nominate three ministers, since Luiz Fux, Cármen Lúcia and Gilmar Mendes will reach the maximum age in 2028, 2029 and 2030, respectively.
The mandatory retirement age was changed by Congress in 2015 following the appointment of Minister Edson Fachin. With the approval of the so-called “PEC of Bengal”, congressmen raised the age from 70 to 75 years and prevented the former president from appointing another five ministers.
Victoria Azevedo, from Brasília, collaborated
