President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on Sunday (Sept. 27) that he no longer wants to choose justices of Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF), the country's top court, on his own. In an interview with the Band network, he proposed creating a council to vet nominations to the court and backed setting terms for the justices. The remarks came one week before the first round of the presidential election, in which Lula, running for reelection, faces Senator Flávio Bolsonaro among other candidates.
According to G1, the interview was recorded at the Alvorada Palace, the presidential residence, and aired on TV Bandeirantes. "I want to change the selection criteria, because the selection criteria are very vulnerable," Lula said. "The only thing I can say is that it cannot stay the way it is," he added. Later on Sunday, speaking to BandNews FM radio, he detailed the idea. "It cannot be only the president who appoints. We have to create criteria so that the person passes through the scrutiny of a collective body, so that the person is no longer the guy appointed by the president. I want someone with responsibility toward Brazilian society," he said, according to Folha de S.Paulo.
The newspaper reports that the council would include legal scholars and members of civil society, and that Lula argued justices should have terms to complete their work on the court. On TV, the president said nominations should examine "with much more care the biography of the people who will join the Supreme Court." He said a citizen should not sit on the court for 35, 40 or 45 years. STF justices are currently appointed by the president with Senate confirmation and serve until mandatory retirement, with no fixed term. Any change would require a constitutional amendment passed by Congress.
A jab at the justices
Lula mocked how justices behave after taking office. "One thing is when you appoint someone, another thing is when they put on the robe. And when the guy puts on the robe, he becomes God," he complained. He said court members need to be serious and should not take the job planning to get rich. "A justice cannot want to get rich. It is incompatible for someone who earns 43,000 reais to get rich, it is not compatible. The same goes for a congressman. No salary of a congressman, a governor or a president can make anyone rich," he said.
The court's crisis
The proposal comes amid what Folha describes as the biggest crisis in the court's history. The investigation into Banco Master revealed close ties between the bank's former owner, Daniel Vorcaro, and sitting justices. According to the newspaper, messages recovered from the former banker's phone show that Vorcaro asked Justice Alexandre de Moraes, two days before his arrest, whether he should leave the country. Moraes edited a 131 million reais contract between Master and his wife's law firm and met Vorcaro at least six times since 2024. Asked about the case, Lula said: "Everyone involved must be investigated. The moment it is proven that a person made a mistake, that person must be punished. That goes for everyone."
Lula told TV Bandeirantes that the council's format still has to be worked out. The first round of the presidential election takes place next Sunday, Oct. 4.