Supreme Court Justice André Mendonça has signaled to aides that he sees no room for a truce with the Federal Police amid tensions surrounding the investigations targeting businessman Fábio Luiz Lula da Silva, known as Lulinha, President Lula's son. The information comes from Folha de S.Paulo, in a report published this Friday (28). No other outlet has confirmed the reporting so far.
The court's president, Edson Fachin, is following the crisis with concern and is trying to prevent an escalation. According to Folha, he told interlocutors it is his duty to preserve institutions and that he is discreetly seeking dialogue with everyone involved. Last week, Fachin met with the Federal Police director-general, Andrei Rodrigues, and with Justice Minister Wellington Lima e Silva, in meetings one interlocutor described as "hearings to smooth over differences".
Mendonça is the rapporteur-justice in charge of the inquiries at the STF, Brazil's Supreme Court. According to the report, he complains about Federal Police delays in the probes into fraud at the INSS, the national social security institute, and sees an attempt to keep the investigations from reaching allies and relatives of President Lula, who is running for reelection in 2026. A judge close to Mendonça described the mood behind the scenes at the court as "a rush to lower the temperature".
On the other side, the Federal Police leadership sees interference by the rapporteur-justice in the force's autonomy. One point of friction, according to Folha, is his order that any change in the team of investigators be communicated to him in advance. Police officials say the request to open three lines of investigation against Lulinha and an operation against Senator Jaques Wagner (PT-BA), in the Banco Master case, show there is no political use of the probes. They also say Mendonça took less time to authorize measures against Wagner than against allies of former president Jair Bolsonaro, such as PP party chairman Ciro Nogueira and former Rio de Janeiro governor Cláudio Castro.
The Banco Master case, one of the sources of the friction, kept moving this Friday. Former banker Daniel Vorcaro, in pretrial detention since March, testified to the Federal Police by videoconference for four and a half hours in the inquiry into suspected favoritism by Central Bank employees, according to G1. His defense said he answered every question and denied any act of corruption.
For now, no truce is in sight. Fachin continues discreet talks with both sides, while Mendonça remains in charge of the inquiries as rapporteur. The next steps depend on the justice's decisions and on the progress of the police investigations, in a standoff the court is trying to keep from getting worse.