CNN commentator José Eduardo Cardozo and former senator and journalist Ana Amélia Lemos debated, this Thursday (30), in The Great Debate (Monday to Friday, at 11pm), if, after Messiah, the ministers of the STF (Supreme Federal Court) are at risk?
By the Federal Senate, an episode described as unprecedented in 132 years, sparked concern about the possibility of opening impeachment proceedings against its ministers.
That of the STF is provided for in article 52 of the Federal Constitution, which determines that the Senate is the body responsible for judging magistrates in cases of crimes of responsibility. For a minister to be removed, 54 votes from the 81 senators are needed.
Risk exists, but magistrates should not bow to pressure
For José Eduardo Cardozo, the STF ministers are at risk since they adopted a stance to confront the acts that occurred on January 8th. According to him, “a significant part of the National Congress, supported by a part of society that directly or indirectly applauded the coup, was against the position of the Federal Supreme Court.” Cardozo stressed, however, that the risk should not cause magistrates to submit to undue pressure or fail to fulfill their role as guardians of democracy.
Cardozo argued that the impeachment process is exceptional and cannot be trivialized. He made reference to Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment, stating that “someone was removed without having committed a responsible crime”, and warned that the same logic should not be repeated. For him, any accusation must be properly investigated, without pre-judgment and without the annihilation of the right to defense.
The commentator also pointed out what he considered a serious error by the STF: the decision, in the context of Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment, not to analyze whether or not there was a crime of responsibility, under the understanding that such competence would fall exclusively to the Legislature. Cardozo argued that this stance contradicts the most modern constitutional doctrine and violates the principle that no violation of rights will be excluded from the Judiciary’s assessment. “This error will have to be reviewed,” he said.
Damage to the STF’s image is the main risk
Ana Amélia Lemos brought a different perspective to the debate. She highlighted that, if what Davi Alcolumbre declared prevails — that he would not accept any impeachment request from Supreme Court ministers, regardless of the number of signatory senators —, the immediate risk of removal would be limited, since it is up to him to receive or not such requests.
For Ana Amélia, the biggest problem is the growing erosion of the STF’s image in Brazilian society. She cited the episode involving Banco Master and the verbal clash between the governor of Minas Gerais, Romeu Zema, and minister Gilmar Mendes as examples of situations that deteriorated the Court’s credibility. “When a Supreme Court minister clashes with a political leader, he is asking to bring a problem to the Supreme Court that does not belong to the Supreme Court,” he stated.
Lemos also mentioned the risk of a vacancy that may not be filled before 2027, in the case of Roberto Barroso.
