The president of the Federal Supreme Court, , talks too much and says little. A few weeks ago he announced his willingness to create a code of conduct for his peers. As could be predicted, he ran into disgruntled ministers, who don’t want any code. If so, be patient.
In the face of adversity, Fachin assumed a prophetic stance. He saw a “democratic erosion” — which, in an insidious way, “erodes institutions from within”. Whoever can show where Brazilian erosion is will win a weekend in Minneapolis. Four years ago it was wide open and came from the palace generals. They are all in jail, starting with a former president who also hinted at apocalyptic crises. Fachin complains because he sees that .
As the minister teaches, repeating a Portuguese proverb, “no one can escape being stoned by a madman or kicked by a donkey”, but there are no persecuted magistrates. In the case of the Supreme Court, farofas, relatives and monocratic connections have little to do with the office of some ministers. The crisis lives in the Supreme Court and some of its ministers do not want the code of conduct proposed —in theory— by Fachin.
If the code does not pass through the “excellent praetorium”, democracy has nothing to do with it. Fachin’s apocalyptic approach leads to the question: who will defend this struggling democracy? A Supreme Court that, fortunately, incarcerates the coup plotters and, unfortunately, does not accept a code of conduct? The person who is eroding the institution of the praetorium is the court itself. And there is nothing insidious about this erosion, it is done openly, sometimes with contracts, sometimes with relatives, almost always with public vacations.
Fachin has two great precedents within his reach. One is his discreet behavior, before assuming the presidency of the court. Another is the style that Minister Rosa Weber imposed on the court’s command. President of the Supreme Court who speaks once a month ends up eroding his credibility. Fachin speaks three times a week.
In a single speech, given in San José, Costa Rica, Fachin spoke of the “silent mode” of authoritarianism, defended magistrates, saw a “crisis of liberal democracy” and regretted living “in a time of uncertainty”. Without giving any details, he mentioned magistrates who do not want to discuss the code of conduct in an election year. To be seen. The magistrates do not want the code in any year.
Two years ago, in a much more modest proposal, it was a question of whether or not to disclose the ministers’ agendas. By 7 to 4, the agendas were shielded. They voted to publicize Fachin, , and . In this squad, the current president of the Supreme Court broke the record: he published his agenda in 201 days.
What’s most corrosive about this shielded conduct is that the bench that accepts a code, doesn’t get into trouble or has relatives practicing legal advocacy is a minority.
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