Explaining Brazil #272: A highly political Supreme Court pick

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva came in for significant criticism in June, when he picked his then-personal lawyer Cristiano Zanin to fill a vacant seat on the Supreme Court. To sit on the highest tribunal in the country, Lula picked a man who literally got him out of jail.

Six months on, Brazil has another Supreme Court vacancy to fill, and more controversy surrounding Lula’s pick. 

On Monday afternoon, Lula announced that he would nominate Justice Minister Flávio Dino to the Supreme Court, filling the vacancy left by former Chief Justice Rosa Weber, who retired in late September.

And so far, the appointment has been met with a mixed response.

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In this episode:

• Cedê Silva is The Brazilian Report’s Brasília correspondent. He previously worked at O Antagonista, O Estado de S.Paulo, Veja BH, and YouTube channel MyNews.

Background reading:

• The nomination of Flávio Dino to a seat on the Supreme Court means it’s now open season for politicians to vie for his place in the cabinet. Lula has typically used vacant ministries as ways to bring conservative forces into his coalition.
• Just as he seemed to be a dead cert for the Supreme Court pick, Mr. Dino faced criticism when it was revealed that officials of his Justice Ministry had met with the wife of a drug boss.
• The choice of Mr. Dino, a moderate politician, was an overwhelmingly political move from Lula, while the Judiciary and Legislative branches of government have been on a collision course.
• Lula’s last Supreme Court pick was panned almost universally. Earlier this year he nominated his then-personal lawyer, Cristiano Zanin, who even began infuriating the left after some less-than-progressive verdicts in landmark cases.
• Lula once again ignored calls to increase representation and nominate black women to positions of power, favoring political allies instead. In fact, a recent opinion poll showed less than half of Brazilians think it is important for a woman to sit on the Supreme Court.

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