The crisis in which the Federal Supreme Court found itself was very clear in the popular opinion of the court and the Judiciary.
The rate of those who do not trust the court reached 43%, the highest rate since this survey began in 2012. Those who trust the court a lot are just 16%.
The reason for this is no mystery. The succession of crises linking ministers to the scandal eroded the credibility of the Judiciary in general, and the Supreme Court in particular.
Also affecting the institution’s image are the millionaire payments paid by courts throughout Brazil and the promiscuous relationships between ministers and businesspeople and politicians at international events such as the famous Gilmarpalooza.
Furthermore, the Bolsonarista electorate has long no longer sympathized with the institution, since the Judiciary took on the role of defending democracy against coup threats.
Now, it seems, even the most centrist segment of the population has become critical of the judges.
For the Supreme Court, all of this is very worrying. At this moment, more coordinated attacks on the institution, such as calls for impeachment of ministers, do not have the strength to prosper.
But this could change soon, especially if the results of the elections were favorable to Bolsonarism.
The former president’s allies have made it an absolute priority to increase the number of senators, who are responsible for judging the removal of ministers. It is very likely that the right-wing bench will increase next year.
This tends to intensify, of course, if Senator Flávio Bolsonaro is elected president. In these cases, we can expect a new offensive against the so-called excesses of the STF.
During the Bolsonaro government, this already happened, but the court had the political strength and public support to resist these attacks. But if it continues to be weakened, as it is today, it will be difficult for it to react and preserve its independence.
Either the STF takes quick action to improve its image, or it will suffer a campaign in the coming months that could be damaging to the Judiciary and Brazilian democracy in general.
LINK PRESENT: Did you like this text? Subscribers can access seven free accesses from any link per day. Just click the blue F below.
