President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is weighing whether to nominate Ricardo Couto, the interim governor of Rio de Janeiro state and a sitting judge, to Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF). The seat had been informally reserved for Jorge Messias, head of the AGU, the federal government's top legal counsel office. CNN Brasil reported the plan on Thursday (Sept. 3), and Folha de S.Paulo confirmed it on Friday (Sept. 4).
Supporters of the swap see the choice of Couto as "a demonstration of institutional respect," according to Folha. By picking the judge, Lula would give up appointing Messias, a loyal ally, in an effort to calm the judiciary. Members of the president's Workers' Party note that the Rio governor is not part of Lula's circle of friends.
A name that resurfaced with the court crisis
Aides told Folha that Couto's name had been under consideration for about two months and returned to the table after a new clash between justices. The idea also reached the leadership of Lula's reelection campaign and was well received, CNN Brasil reports. The court is engulfed in a public feud between Justices Alexandre de Moraes and André Mendonça, tied to the Banco Master investigation. According to Caio Junqueira's column at CNN Brasil, the nomination would help "distance Lula from the wear on the Court caused by the exposure of the relations of Alexandre de Moraes and Daniel Vorcaro," a businessman under investigation in the case.
Couto chaired the Rio de Janeiro Court of Justice and took over the state government as third in the line of succession, after the governor, the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the state assembly lost their posts over corruption suspicions. His administration has replaced civil servants with suspected ties to organized crime, CNN Brasil reports. Folha notes that Lula has publicly praised the judge's work.
Electoral math
The choice could pay off politically. Rio is the country's third-largest electoral college, Folha notes. After four months in office, 47% of Rio voters approve of the interim governor's work and 31% disapprove, according to a Datafolha poll. Internal surveys held by the campaign point to approval above 80%, CNN Brasil reports, and nominating him before the October elections would tie Lula's image to the governor. In the presidential race, Lula and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, are tied in second-round polling. In the state race, Lula-backed Eduardo Paes (PSD) watches the pro-Bolsonaro Douglas Ruas (PL) gain ground.
Folha also reports that allies are pushing for the exit of Andrei Rodrigues, director-general of the Federal Police, one of the officials called to explain the crisis. Chief Justice Edson Fachin has demanded answers from Moraes, Mendonça, Rodrigues and the prosecutor general, according to Metrópoles. Nothing is decided: the presidential palace has not confirmed a nomination, and any justice must clear a confirmation vote in the Senate.