President Jair Bolsonaro has picked Solicitor General André Mendonça to succeed Supreme Court Justice Marco Aurélio Mello, who will turn 75 years old on July 12 and thus reach mandatory retirement age. Mr. Bolsonaro confirmed his decision during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
As we noted in this morning’s Brazil Daily newsletter (for premium subscribers only), Mr. Bolsonaro assured supporters that the upcoming Supreme Court vacancy would be filled by an Evangelical Christian judge. The president had promised to appoint an “extremely Evangelical” justice upon taking office in 2019, but did not follow through on his pledge when a...