Lula promised diversity. But he is focusing on self-interest

By Amanda Audi

The first black woman to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court, Ketanji Brown Jackson is considered one of the court’s most active and influential justices, capable of representing diverse viewpoints in her votes.

She was defeated in the case that rejected the use of race-based affirmative action in university admissions. Nevertheless, her vote became famous for arguing that “deeming race irrelevant in law does not make it so in life.”

Justice Jackson took office in 2022, following a campaign promise from President Joe Biden. In its 230-year history, the U.S. Supreme Court has had only two black justices, both men, and only five female justices.

Brazil has a similar lack of representation. To date, the country’s Supreme Court has had only three female justices, none of whom were black. There are more justices named “Luiz” on the current bench (Justices Luiz Roberto Barroso, Luiz Edson Fachin, André Luiz Mendonça, and Luiz Fux) than there have been women in the court’s entire history.

Since returning for a third term this year, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has repeatedly stated that he will value diversity and increase the representation of marginalized groups — particularly women, black people, and indigenous people — in key positions. 

He began his administration with the highest number of female cabinet ministers ever (11 out of 37) and chose women for nine out of 33 federal court vacancies.

But less than a year in, he has already removed two women from cabinet positions to accommodate politicians whose parties he needs to please to bolster his support in Congress. He also didn’t think twice before choosing his personal lawyer, Cristiano Zanin (a white man), to fill an initial vacancy on the Supreme Court.

Calls for representation and diversity

Lula has come under pressure in recent weeks to make good on his promises to value diversity by appointing a black woman to another vacancy on the court, which will open up when Justice Rosa Weber retires this week, and to the Federal Prosecution Office, with the end...