(Supreme Federal Court), Executive and Congress have reached one of the most tense moments in a long dispute for space that has been raging for years in Brasília. The minister’s impeachment decision strained the relationship with the president of the , (-AP), until then one of the main guarantors of the Judiciary.
Alcolumbre, first read and then improvised, and commanded respect from the Legislature. He advocated approving a new law on crimes under the responsibility of STF ministers and changing the Constitution to reverse Gilmar Mendes’ decision. “This was the legislator’s choice and, regardless of whether we agree with it or not, it needs to be respected,” he said.
He recalled that he spent his first year as president of the Senate, in 2019, attacked by right-wing parliamentarians for rejecting the opening of the CPI (Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry) of Lava Toga, and said that he always worked to maintain the balance between the Powers.
“But rest assured, your Excellencies, that I do not lack the courage to do whatever is necessary to protect the Brazilian Legislature”, he stated. The speech was followed and supported by parliamentarians from the right, center and left.
The episode adds to others in the dispute over space between the Powers. In recent days, the Chamber had already given indications that it will disregard the conviction of deputy Carla Zambelli (PL-SP) by the STF and will preserve her mandate. The case’s rapporteur, deputy Diego Garcia (-PR), stated that there is no evidence in the case and criticized the court’s judgment. She is trapped in Italy.
Furthermore, the president of the Chamber, (Republicanos-PB), has not yet informed how he will forward the Supreme Court’s decision to lose the mandate of deputy Alexandre Ramagem (PL-RJ), but allies say that the most coherent thing would be to also send the process to the CCJ (Constitution and Justice Commission) to evaluate the process before submitting it to the plenary.
The Senate itself is accused of trying to advance a prerogative of the President of the Republic when discussing the rejection of the president’s nominee (PT) for the STF, as he preferred that Senator Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG) be chosen instead. The PT government’s reaction was to withhold the nomination, which led Alcolumbre to counter that the Palácio do Planalto was trying to interfere in the Senate’s calendar.
For years, Congress and the Executive have been fighting over the prerogative of deciding the Union Budget and how public money will be spent. The fight intensified with the Legislature advancing over slices of these resources during governments with an unstable parliamentary base, such as the Dilma Rousseff (PT), Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and current Lula administrations.
The decision that infuriated the senators had Minister Gilmar Mendes, one of those with the greatest dialogue with the political world, as its author. Mendes declared part of the 1950 Impeachment Law unconstitutional and determined that the power to request the impeachment of STF ministers is exclusive to the Attorney General of the Republic (PGR), a role currently held by Paulo Gonet.
The minister said that the rule encouraged complaints motivated by partisan political interests, without rigor and based on political disagreements or differences in interpretation of the court’s decisions.
According to the judge, only the head of the Union Public Ministry “has the capacity to assess, from a strictly legal perspective, the existence of concrete elements that justify the initiation of an impeachment procedure.”
Until then, any citizen could present a request for impeachment of a STF minister to the Senate. It is up to the President of the House to decide whether there is just cause to accept this request and prosecute the minister. Alcolumbre refused to do this, as did his predecessors.
The right, however, aims to achieve a majority in the Senate in the 2026 election, as a way of putting pressure on the Supreme Court and gaining enough numbers to remove a minister. The plan has already been widely defended by former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL), who intends to use this majority to reverse his conviction and imprisonment.
Gilmar also changed the quorum for the Senate to approve the impeachment of a minister. The rule present in the law requires a simple majority of voters – at the limit, it could be approved by 21 votes to 20, if only half of the senators voted. Now, the minister has determined that the support of 54 of the 81 senators will be needed, the same number needed to remove the President of the Republic.
Gilmar’s decision was also the result of political negotiation. The action in which he took the decision was directed by a request from the Solidariedade party, chaired by deputy Paulinho da Força (SP), one of those closest to the STF ministers. The process initially dealt with the possibility of arresting a candidate in the second round of elections, a matter with no correlation to this topic.
Alcolumbre complained to his allies that this weakens the Legislature vis-à-vis the other Powers, as it will now depend on the PGR to remove them. Congressmen experience constant distrust with the Supreme Court because of dozens of court inquiries to investigate alleged deviations in parliamentary amendments.
The changes in the impeachment of ministers were decided by preliminary injunction, which will be judged in the STF plenary in a virtual session scheduled for the period from the 12th to the 19th – when the legislative recess begins, which will also prevent stronger political reactions.
The opposition presented a PEC (Proposed Amendment to the Constitution), with the aim of resuming the prerogative that any citizen can present these requests. They collect signatures to try to file it before the end of the year, but the process takes longer than a normal project.
