Last week, the Senate blocked President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s nomination to lead Brazil’s Public Defenders’ Office. Though a low-profile position, the political defeat could be a dangerous harbinger for the administration, whose list of pending nominations ranges from a Supreme Court seat to the next prosecutor general, board members on multiple regulatory bodies, and lower courts.
Senators traditionally rubber-stamp Executive appointments — which is why the vote blocking public defender Igor Roque is so eye-opening.
Lula had appointed him in May. The Senate Constitution and Justice Commission confirmed him in July with a 20-1 vote. But he lost a Senate floor vote 38-35.
One of the alleged reasons for the rejection was that the Public Defenders’ Office promoted a seminar on legal abortion — an issue that completely alienates the right-wing opposition, especially lawmakers who support far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro. Mr. Roque had nothing to do with the event, which was canceled after a political backlash.
In an op-ed published this week in major newspaper Folha de S.Paulo, Mr. Roque called it a political message from Congress, telling Lula not to nominate Justice Minister Flávio Dino to the...
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