The rejection for ), after voting on this Wednesday (29), could pave the way for a turnaround in the court, with a majority of Bolsonarist nominations, if it wins the elections in October.
The next president will be entitled to three nominations to take the place of the ministers, and, who must leave the Supreme Court due to compulsory retirement. They turn 75, the maximum age to remain in the role, in 2028, 2029 and 2030, respectively.
The president of the Senate, a key player in the effort to reject Messias, promised two senators that the vacancy of former minister Luís Roberto Barroso, who retired last year, will only be filled after being nominated by the next president. In other words, it will not put to the vote another name that may be nominated before the election.
Thus, if the president of the Senate keeps his promise, the president elected in October will be entitled to four new nominations.
Currently, the court has two ministers who were chosen by (PL): and . If the former president’s son is elected, and is entitled to four more nominations, there will be six names that will have reached the court through the hands of the family — the majority among the 11 ministers.
Bolsonaro politicians also hope to form a large bench in the Senate and advocate for the impeachment of ministers, such as .
According to a Datafolha survey, Flávio Bolsonaro and Lula appear in a possible second round, the senator with 46% of voting intentions, and the PT member with 45%.
After the government’s defeat this Wednesday (29), Flávio said that the vote was a response “to what part of the Supreme Court has been doing”, and that it is a “good sign that democracy can breathe again”.
“No one has ever attacked institutions, never tried to coup anything,” said the senator, even though his father has, on several occasions, attacked the Federal Supreme Court and its ministers.
“We just wanted a country where institutions respected their limits, their members acted within the Constitution, and that’s everything that hasn’t been happening since then. We always defended self-restraint from the Supreme Court, which didn’t come.”
Flávio also stated that, in the next elections, the position on the impeachment of Supreme Court ministers will be decisive for voters to choose their senators.
Jair Bolsonaro has sometimes shown concern about the composition of the court and the possibility of expanding his own influence. In October 2022, before losing that year’s elections, he stated that he had received proposals from the Supreme Court and that he could discuss the issue with Congress after the elections.
In July 2018, before becoming president, he increased ministers from 11 to 21.
“It’s a way for you to put ten exempt people in there because, the way they have decided national issues, we really can’t even dream of changing Brazil’s destiny,” he said in an interview with TV Cidade, in Fortaleza.
