Loyalty was the preponderant factor in the choice that the president () made for a seat on the (Supreme Federal Court), a vacancy opened with the minister’s retirement.
The choice also served as a counterpoint to a now powerful trio of Supreme Court ministers: , and , guarantors of the name of the senator (-MG) to the court.
Pacheco was also the favorite of a significant number of senators, especially the president of the House, (-AP).
The appointment of the attorney general to the STF therefore adds to the list of wear and tear between Planalto and its neighbors in Praça dos Três Poderes, natural for a tenant of almost three years. The , in fact, recently gave its message by approving in a close vote — let’s say — for command of the Attorney General’s Office.
By nominating the current attorney general of the Union for the post, Lula tells the other Powers that this definition is up to him alone.
He acts with pragmatism, expecting security from the chosen one in decisions on controversies that are being processed in the Supreme Court and are of interest to his government, especially in the economic area. And it ignores an entire public debate and the vacancy, given the low female representation on the court.
The president will tell supporters that it is necessary to reinforce predictability in the court — which opponents will call shielding. After all, it is the eve of an election year, a “sacred year”, as it were for an audience of supporters.
One is described as someone ready for the task entrusted to him by Palácio do Planalto, as he combines a technical-legal profile and alignment with the political project in force in Brazil.
Alignment that doesn’t come from today. The nominee has accumulated years of services provided to PT administrations. He was, for example, secretary of Regulation and Supervision at the Ministry of Education under Aloizio Mercadante (PT) and, with Mercadante, he went to the Civil House, where he served as advisor and deputy head of legal affairs in the government of the former president (PT).
Under Lula 3, Messias began to gain ground during the transitional government, collaborating with legal aspects on the new design of the Esplanada dos Ministérios from 2023 onwards.
Throughout that year, he added a few more points by leading the reaction to, with a series of judicial initiatives to demand compensation from the perpetrators of the depredations at the headquarters of the three Powers for the losses caused to the public coffers.
In command of the AGU, he actively defended public policies and Executive acts. He is a supporter of a strong State, a driver of the country’s development.
Contributions that made him appear among those listed for a seat on the STF in the previous vacancy (2023), then one of Lula’s main advisors.
It was when Messias joined the head of the Executive and became a frequent presence in political meetings at the headquarters of the central government.
Defeated in their preference, Gilmar Mendes, Alexandre de Moraes and Flávio Dino, with the ability to better institutional dialogue between the Powers, the so-called “adults’ game” as Gilmar himself stated.
If it is approved after a hearing in the Senate, a stage now less predictable as it is not the “name” of the House, Messias will quickly be forced to demonstrate among future peers the ability to participate in this “game for adults”.
