The “”, event led by the dean of the (Supreme Federal Court), in , is expected to receive fewer authorities this year compared to previous editions, when politicians and businesspeople made a point of attending the meeting.
The political climate caused by the Banco Master scandal, the date of the event and the defense of a code of ethics by the president of the court, Edson Fachin, are pointed out as factors that may have contributed to the confirmation of a smaller number of participants.
Fachin’s proposal for a code of conduct would have caused embarrassment among high-ranking figures from the three Powers, especially if the debate is added to the political pressure of the scandal, which exposed relationships between members of the judiciary and politicians with the former banker, with transfers of resources. The explosion of the case caused fear among authorities of being in the same environment as people from the private sector.
Faced with the emptying, the minister personally contacted authorities and prominent figures to reinforce the invitation, especially members of the (Superior Court of Justice). Even so, the number of court magistrates confirmed fell by half from 2025 to 2026.
Gilmar’s assistants at IDP (Brazilian Institute of Education, Development and Research) and FGV (Fundação Getúlio Vargas) also intensified calls to close the list of speakers.
For this year, there is also no forecast for the presence of the presidents of the National Congress and ministers from the Lula (PT) government, and only Flávio Dino, from the Supreme Court, confirmed his presence. Last year, there were four members of the court besides Gilmar himself: Dino, Alexandre de Moraes, André Mendonça and Luís Roberto Barroso.
Barroso was president of the STF at the time and spoke. Now retired, he must go to this edition.
The 14th Forum will take place between June 1st and 3rd. The complete program is not yet available on the event website. The central theme will be technology and sovereignty, democratic, economic and social challenges.
The date was also a complicating factor cited by the Sheet by invited authorities. Under reservation, a STJ minister stated that it coincides with trial sessions. Therefore, to participate, members of the court would need to be absent, participate remotely or try to change the dates of the sessions with their colleagues.
The forum was usually scheduled for the end of June or beginning of July. This edition is almost a month earlier than usual. On June 2, the second day of the event, the STJ will have sessions for all classes — the STF calendar for next month is not yet public. In the case of politicians, it also coincides with the proximity of the elections, which tends to concentrate efforts on electoral bases.
Another judge stated that “the climate is not good for meetings of this type”, a statement similar to that made by two other ministers heard under reserve by the Sheet.
One of them stated that there is concern among colleagues that, in Lisbon, they may end up fraternizing with people who will be involved in the Master case in the future.
A confirmed lawyer stated that he had no intention of participating in this edition after having already attended the last four. But he and his partner received emails and calls from two of the event organizers insisting on their presence.
He also reports hearing that colleagues are wary of media exposure at this time.
Gilmarpalooza, its speakers and guests, especially public officials, have already suffered criticism and received questions about the cost of travel, accommodation and stay at the .
Another recurring criticism is about the meeting, in the same environment, of Judiciary authorities, businesspeople, government ministers and politicians. There are three days of possibility of coexistence between people who may be interested or even involved in processes.
This year, the list of those confirmed includes the minister of the STF, nine ministers of the STJ, the Attorney General of the Republic, two secretaries of the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, the minister of the (Superior Electoral Court) Floriano de Azevedo Marques, the minister of the (Federal Court of Auditors) Antonio Anastasia and the president of the (Brazilian Bar Association), Beto Simonetti.
There is also the advisor from Carf (Administrative Council for Financial Resources) Yendis Costa, federal deputy Orlando Silva (PCdoB-SP), judges, lawyers, advisors to ministers and businesspeople.
The forecast so far points to a reduction in the quorum in relation to past lists. In 2025, there were five ministers from the STF, 18 from the STJ, five from the TCU and 20 to 50 parliamentarians, including the then president of the Chamber of Deputies (-AL).
The latest edition attracted the government (PT), the Judiciary, Congress, state administrations and other public bodies. There were also 2,500 subscribers. So far, this year’s edition has 1,500 registrations — there are still two weeks until the forum.
In 2024, Justice, state governments, and other public bodies participated in the . Ministers Anielle Franco (Racial Equality), Luciana Santos (Science, Technology and Innovation), Jorge Messias (Attorney General of the Union), Vinicius Marques (Comptroller General of the Union) and Alexandre Silveira (Mines and Energy) were on the list of those confirmed. The general director of the PF (Federal Police), Andrei Rodrigues, also participated.
It planned to send 18 members that year, including Lira, deputies and civil servants. There was also the then president of , , and the then governors (Rio de Janeiro), () and Ronaldo Caiado (Goiás).
The 2023 edition, which brought together a series of politicians, lawyers, businesspeople and candidates for positions in the Executive and Judiciary, gave rise to the forum’s nickname, now assumed by the minister himself. On the occasion, the Vice President of the Republic, Geraldo Alckmin (PSB), was one of the key speakers.
In public statements, Minister Gilmar Mendes claims to find the forum’s nickname amusing. He argues that the meeting was consolidated as a moment of dialogue between Brazil and Europe and a space to think about the country’s pressing issues.
Gilmar is a member of IDP, an educational center that is one of the organizers of the event and which has the minister’s son, Francisco Mendes, as its director. FGV and the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon are also organizers of the meeting.
Fachin’s proposal to create a code of conduct for the Supreme Court was made public last December. In the opening speech of the judicial year, in February, the president cited the issue as a priority.
The idea is based on establishing guidelines to strengthen the STF’s public reputation, indicating clauses that would oblige ministers to comply with rules of impartiality, integrity and honesty. It also talks about specific rules on public demonstrations, participation in events and greater quarantine on working in court after leaving the bench.
