Less than half of Brazilians think it’s important for a woman to occupy the Supreme Court seat that will become available on the retirement of Chief Justice Rosa Weber in a few weeks (she will reach the mandatory retirement age of 75 on October 2). That’s according to a Datafolha survey, released on Friday, showing that 47 percent of the population think that, as a woman occupied the spot, it would be natural for it to be left to another.
However, the gender of the new justice does not matter to 51 percent of those interviewed. The profile of those with this opinion is interesting. Most are male and well-paid (earning up to 10 minimum wages per month), evangelical, live in Brazil’s South and Southeast states, and identify ideologically with former president Jair Bolsonaro.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has faced pressure from leftist sectors to nominate a black woman for the position. To date, the Supreme Court has only ever had three female justices, and none were black.
So far, the strongest contenders in the dispute are all white men. Lula’s allies say that he will likely choose from the following shortlist: Justice Minister Flávio Dino, Solicitor General Jorge Messias, or Bruno Dantas, chief of the Federal Court of Auditors.
Last month, the president appointed Cristiano Zanin (another white man), his former personal lawyer, to the Supreme Court.
In recent weeks, Mr. Zanin faced criticism from left-wing politicians and activists for making conservative decisions, like his stance against any type of drug liberalization.
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