Supreme Court seat remains vacant amid political tug-of-war

Never before — at least not since the enactment of Brazil’s 1988 Constitution — has one of the country’s Supreme Court seats laid empty for so long. Justice Marco Aurélio Mello retired almost 70 days ago and his replacement has yet to be formalized. President Jair Bolsonaro nominated André Mendonça for the vacancy in July, but the head of the Senate’s Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ) is seeking to delay his confirmation hearing for as long as possible.

As the chairman of the CCJ, former Senate President Davi Alcolumbre has the power to choose when Supreme Court appointments will be analyzed — and he is keen for Mr. Bolsonaro to change his mind on André Mendonça and nominate Prosecutor General Augusto Aras instead. 

“[Mr. Alcolumbre] came to me and said: ‘Let’s reject André Mendonça and put Augusto Aras in his place,’” one senator tells The Brazilian Report. “He’s clearly abusing his powers as committee chairman,” complains another. 

Choosing André Mendonça to sit on the Supreme Court was devised as a nod to Mr. Bolsonaro’s Evangelical Christian supporters — key to his 2018 election win, but who have been less fervent about the president as of...