At a time when the (Supreme Federal Court) has only one minister among its 10 magistrates, 51% of Brazilians say it is very important and 18% somewhat important for the court. Another 27% say this criterion is not important at all.
Furthermore, 46% say it is very important and 16% somewhat important, while 34% say this condition is not important for the composition of the court. Currently, only two STF ministers declare themselves brown ( and ) — the rest are white.
The opinions were collected in a survey carried out last week, with a margin of error of plus or minus two percentage points and registered with the (Superior Electoral Court) with number BR-00290/2026. 2,004 people were interviewed in 139 municipalities across the country, on Tuesday (12) and Wednesday (13).
The STF has the vacancy of its 11th minister open since his early retirement in October 2025.
The president () nominated the Union’s attorney general to replace him, but last month he suffered a rejection — the first rejection, since 1894, of someone chosen by the President of the Republic for the court.
According to the Datafolha survey, 59% of people did not know that Messiah was rejected. Among those who found out, 53% say this made the government weaker, while 7% say it became stronger. For 36%, the episode did not interfere with the strength of Lula’s administration.
The Datafolha survey shows that 46% of Brazilians say it is very important and 20% somewhat important that the person chosen is religious, a characteristic that was highlighted as one of the assets of Messias, an evangelical whose nomination was also seen as a nod from the current president to this segment.
Now, there is once again a demand from some entities in defense of the appointment of a black woman to the STF. As shown by Sheethowever, Lula expressed his intention to allies, despite obstacles such as .
Among those who intend to vote for Lula, 64% say it is very important to nominate a woman and 60% a black person. Among (PL) voters, these rates drop to 41% and 35%, respectively.
Using a list of eight items, Datafolha asked whether interviewees assessed certain characteristics as very, somewhat or not at all important for the person chosen for a seat in the Supreme Court.
The item that had the highest agreement rate was legal knowledge. For 85%, it is very important that the nominees have excellent knowledge about the law. But 6% rated this point as only a little important and another 6% as not at all important. The Constitution requires “remarkable legal knowledge” and “unblemished reputation” to be a minister of the STF.
The research results reveal the appreciation of some characteristics that would not be necessary or recommended for court magistrates — given the role they must play, with impartiality and equidistance between the parties.
For 51%, it is very important that the nominee for the Supreme Court has total loyalty to the President of the Republic who nominated him, while 25% say that this item is not important at all.
Furthermore, 47% see it as very important that the name chosen for the court has political affinity with federal deputies and senators.
At the same time, in an apparent contradiction, 64% say they expect STF ministers to be independent of politicians and parties.
Finally, 53% of those who see the support of current Supreme Court magistrates as very important for whoever has to occupy the next seat.
At the beginning of his third term, Lula had the prospect of appointing two members to the STF on his horizon. Given Barroso’s early retirement, this number was increased to three.
The president’s defeat with the rejection of Messias occurred in a context in which both the president of , (-AP), and a wing of the Supreme Court had another favorite name: senator Rodrigo Pacheco (PSB-MG).
By opting for Messiah, Lula opposed both these groups and the demands of some of his allies for a woman on the country’s highest court.
As with his last two nominations, the PT member also prioritized a name he trusted, in line with his predecessor, (), who even said, at the time of choosing , that his nominee needed to be someone who would have “a beer” or “a tubaína” with him.
For the first open position, in 2023, Lula appointed his personal lawyer. Subsequently, he appointed his ally and at the time Minister of Justice of his government, to the post previously occupied by the minister. As a result, the court that had two women now has only .
As for the question about having total loyalty to the President of the Republic who made the nomination, 63% of Lula’s voters consider this point to be very important, compared to 45% of those who prefer Flávio Bolsonaro.
As shown by Sheetif Messiah’s nomination was confirmed by the Senate, the Supreme Court, even if all the next vacancies are filled by women. This is considering that ministers remain in the court until the mandatory retirement age of 75 years.
If the seat left vacant by Barroso is not filled this term, whoever wins this year’s presidential election.
