Inaugurated president of the TSE said that combating abuses in public debate cannot harm the free expression of thought
stated, this Tuesday (May 12, 2026), to the presidency of the TSE (Superior Electoral Court), that combating disinformation must observe the protection of freedom of expression.
In his speech, the new president said that all citizens have a role in preserving public debate. He also cited the risk of “hijacking of ideas through fear”by arguing that combating abuse in the information environment does not result in harm to the free expression of thought.
Nunes Marques took command of the TSE in the year of the 2026 general elections. The minister was the Court’s rapporteur for the election, which includes rules on electoral propaganda, the use of artificial intelligence and campaign operations in the digital environment.
The minister stated that technological advances expand access to public debate, but also impose new institutional responsibilities. Nunes also mentioned the use “exponential” e “disordered” from the. He said that technology can serve transparency and strengthen citizenship, as long as it is used in a manner compatible with electoral rules and the preservation of popular sovereignty.
NEW TSE COMMAND
The new court dome will be completed by the minister53 years old, who took office as vice president.
The 2 ministers were appointed to the Federal Supreme Court by (PL). Nunes Marques was the former president’s 1st nominee to the STF in 2020. Mendonça was the 2nd, in 2021.
The Court is made up of 7 ministers: 3 from the STF, 2 from the STJ and 2 lawyers appointed on a triple list by the Supreme Court and appointed by the President of the Republic. President and vice-president are chosen from among the STF ministers who are part of the court. The electoral inspector general is chosen from among the ministers of the STJ. Read the composition of the Electoral Court:
- Carmen LuciaSTF minister nominated to the Supreme Court by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva;
- Kassio Nunes BrandsSTF minister appointed to the Supreme Court by Jair Bolsonaro;
- André MendonçaSTF minister appointed to the Supreme Court by Jair Bolsonaro;
- Antonio Carlos Ferreiraminister of the STJ appointed to the Court by Dilma Rousseff;
- Ricardo Villas Bôas Cuevaminister of the STJ appointed to the Court by Dilma Rousseff;
- Floriano de Azevedo Marqueslawyer nominated on the triple list by the STF and appointed to the TSE by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva;
- Estela Aranhalawyer nominated on the triple list by the STF and appointed to the TSE by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
NUNES MARQUES AND ANDRÉ MENDONÇA
With a discreet profile, Nunes Marques was by former president (PL) in October 2020, still during the covid-19 pandemic, in the vacancy opened by the retirement of minister Celso de Mello. At the time, the nominee was a 2nd degree judge of the TRF-1 (Federal Regional Court of the 1st Region), with good dialogue with politicians and ministers of the Superior Court of Justice and the Supreme Court.
One of the main organizers of his nomination was Senator (PP), who, like the minister, is from Teresina, capital of Piauí. Nogueira managed to get Nunes Marques’ name out there and, in a short time, the magistrate was endorsed by the senator and is now a pre-candidate for the Presidency. (PL).
Born on May 16, 1972, Nunes Marquesin a ceremony marked by restrictions on gatherings in the context of the pandemic. He assumed a reserved stance and, in the plenary, rarely disagreed with the majority position.
André Mendonça, with a conservative profile and linked to the evangelical milieu, also to the STF by Bolsonaro, in July 2021, for the vacancy opened with the by minister Marco Aurélio Mello. The choice fulfilled the former president’s promise to appoint a minister “terribly evangelical” to the Court.
Before arriving at the Supreme Court, Mendonça was the Union’s attorney general and Minister of Justice in the Bolsonaro government. Born in Santos (SP), on December 27, 1972, he has a degree in Law, a Union lawyer and a Presbyterian pastor.
His nomination faced resistance in the Senate and was stopped for more than 4 months before being approved in December 2021. He took in the STF on December 16 of that year and, in the Court, he began to adopt actions aligned with conservative and religious freedom agendas.
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