The rejection of Jorge Messias’ nomination to the STF (Supreme Federal Court) represents, first and foremost, a defeat for the government and a message to the STF itself. This is the assessment of Felipe Recondo, journalist and researcher specialized in the Supreme Court, in an interview with WW.
According to Recondo, although Messias is the symbolic victim of the political process, the episode must be read in a broader light. “It is less of a defeat for the Messiah. Of course, it symbolizes for him, of course, he is the victim of this political process that culminates in his rejection. But this is a defeat for the government and also a message for the Federal Supreme Court”, he stated.
The expert highlighted that Messias’ performance in the hearing was not the determining factor for the result. According to Recondo, the candidate “spoke the language that politicians like to hear” and promised what the Senate wanted to hear. His age — 45 years old — would not be an obstacle either, since other Supreme Court ministers, such as Dias Toffoli and Celso de Mello, were appointed at similar ages. The proximity to the President of the Republic would also not be unprecedented, given the previous appointments of Cristiano Zanin and Flávio Dino.
Political movement behind the rejection
For Recondo, what is at stake is a deeper political movement, which involves the re-election of Davi Alcolumbre (União-AP) to the presidency of the Senate in the next term. By blocking the government’s nomination, Alcolumbre would have delivered one — which had long been pushing for the impeachment of STF ministers — without necessarily opening a formal process. “What Davi Alcolumbre does is an impeachment in another way, he is a government nominee,” said the expert.
Recondo also pointed out that Alcolumbre is close to Supreme Court ministers, especially Alexandre de Moraes, and that the maneuver could guarantee the court institutional protection regardless of the result of the next elections. “It’s more of a political thing than necessarily a response to Jorge Messias’ choice”, he concluded. The expert also highlighted that, if the nomination had come from Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), the result would hardly have been the same.
