The president of the (Superior Electoral Court) appointed judge and former CNJ (National Council of Justice) advisor Renata Gil to head the court’s newly created directorate of international affairs.
Renata was president of the AMB (Association of Brazilian Magistrates) and is the girlfriend of the minister of the (Supreme Federal Court). She left her position as advisor to the interim governor of Rio, Ricardo Couto, to take on the new role, made official last Wednesday (27).
Kassio assumed the presidency of the TSE on May 12th. He propagated behind the scenes wanting to differentiate himself from , who commanded the court in the last presidential election, and
Wanted by SheetKassio did not comment. He justified to interlocutors the creation of the board that will be occupied by Renata, stating that the court needs foreign observers participating in the electoral period to strengthen relations with international organizations and provide transparency to the election.
The president of the TSE also said internally that his choice was due to the fact that Renata was president of the AMB, with experience in dealing with international bodies.
A judge at the Rio de Janeiro Courts since 1998, Renata has a degree in law from Uerj (State University of Rio de Janeiro). She was the first woman to preside over the AMB, from 2020 to 2022. Previously, she was in charge of Amaerj (Association of Magistrates of the State of Rio de Janeiro), an entity that she commanded for two consecutive terms.
Minister Dias Toffoli stated that any conclusion linking the appointment to the fact that she was his girlfriend was a gesture of misogyny.
Renata repeated this position. “I have been a judge for 28 years, I was an electoral judge for 17 years, I conducted elections in my state [Rio de Janeiro] over an entire election period. I was also the conductor of electoral observation in 2022 with the minister [Luís Roberto Barroso]with minister Alexandre [de Moraes]with the minister [Edson] Fachin. And my story boils down to being minister Dias Toffoli’s girlfriend?”, he asked.
As director of international affairs at the TSE, Renata will be directly linked to the presidency of the court.
She will join the court at a time when Kassio foresees turmoil due to electoral polarization, he told advisors.
The president of the TSE fears that the system will be questioned again, as happened in 2022, when the former president () and allies spread lies about the functioning of the equipment.
“The Brazilian electronic voting system constitutes an institutional heritage of our democracy. Regarding the reception, counting and dissemination of votes, our system is the most advanced in the world. This prominent global position does not prevent the constant improvement of our system”, stated Kassio at his inauguration, on May 12.
