The presidential candidate and former governor of Minas Gerais, stated this Wednesday (22) that the (Federal Supreme Court) is the “worst Supreme Court in history”.
“The Supreme Court, in the past, was the institution that Brazil relied on to resolve its crises. The Supreme Court was Brazil’s firefighter. Now it’s the opposite: the Supreme Court is Brazil’s arsonist. It’s the firefighter who arrives throwing gasoline, only worsening the situation,” he said.
Zema’s demonstration, made in a press interview alongside opposition deputies in the Chamber, in Brasília, to include the former Minas Gerais governor in the fake news investigation.
Zema came into the sights of STF ministers because of a video in which a doll that imitates Gilmar Mendes talks about the Master case with another that represents the minister. The video was released by Zema last month and republished on Monday (20), following Gilmar’s request.
“We are seeing an attack on democracy. We can no longer make caricatures, be ironic. […] I am being deprived of my freedom of expression. Can we no longer do this kind of thing? This cannot be done, as far as I know, in North Korea, in Cuba, in some completely authoritarian regimes. It seems that we are at risk right now of moving in that direction”, said Zema.
The presidential candidate also stated that the STF ministers, whom he calls “untouchables”, will be “replaced by good Brazilians”. Zema listed his proposals in relation to the court to stop what he called rot, in reference to Toffoli and Moraes’ relationship with the owner of Master, .
Among the measures are requiring that the nominee be over 60 years old, eliminating monocratic decisions and determining that the opening of an impeachment process against ministers depends only on the majority of the . “Don’t depend on a silent president who has his tail tied up,” said Zema, speaking about the senator (União Brasil-AP).
Zema also stated that he intends to change the process for appointing STF ministers, which is currently entirely the responsibility of the President of the Republic.
“We also want to improve that it is not just the president participating in this nomination, that there is also participation from the Supreme Court of Justice, the Attorney General’s Office, the OAB. It is a very important position for just one person to decide. […] I, as governor of the state, appointed magistrates to the position of judge. I received a triple list, which was already filtered”, he stated.
As the Panel showed, opposition deputies decided against Gilmar Mendes in reaction to the measure against Zema. They will also take a criminal report against the minister to the PGR and a demonstration to Minister Edson Fachin, president of the STF.
Asked about the lack of success in previous impeachment requests against STF ministers, the leader of the opposition in the Chamber, Cabo Gilberto Silva (-PB), admitted that there is no majority in the Senate to initiate a process.
“We don’t have a majority in the Federal Senate, as everyone knows, but with each passing day, the situation of the Supreme Court ministers gets worse. […] Wear is at a record high. So, soft water on hard stone hits until it pierces. As many impeachment requests as necessary to present, we will present them”, he said.
The deputy also said that this is not “any type of attack on the STF institution”, but rather serious allegations regarding some ministers.
