Opposition senators threatened on Monday (14) to stall all Senate business if the chamber's president, Davi Alcolumbre (União Brasil-AP), does not open impeachment proceedings against Alexandre de Moraes, a justice of Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF). The warning came at a press conference in the Senate, one day before the court decides whether to open an investigation into the justice. Under Brazil's constitution, the Senate is the body that tries Supreme Court justices accused of crimes of responsibility.
Senator Carlos Viana of Minas Gerais led the charge. "If this removal does not happen, we will demand that Alcolumbre move the impeachment of Alexandre de Moraes. Otherwise, we will obstruct the work of the chamber," he said, according to radio station Itatiaia. He then widened the threat before reporters, according to news site Poder360:
"We are unanimous in demanding that the president of the Federal Senate has the obligation to open the impeachment process against Moraes for the good of the Brazilian Republic. Otherwise, we will mount a continuous obstruction of all the work to call on the Brazilian people."
The Senate opposition leader, Rogério Marinho (PL), told Poder360 that 61 signatures already back the justice's removal. He said Alcolumbre has refused to meet with senators on the matter. Marinho also coordinates the presidential campaign of Flávio Bolsonaro (PL).
Pressure on the rulebook
Under current Senate rules, the power to move or shelve cases against Supreme Court justices belongs to the Senate president alone. Marinho said the rules give Alcolumbre excessive power and announced a proposal to change them:
"We will propose changing the Senate's rules so that, once 49 senators file a request to open an investigation for a crime of responsibility, it is opened automatically, regardless of the will of the chamber's president."
Senator Tereza Cristina (PP-MS) attended the press conference. According to the newspaper Estadão, she activated 40 senators to be in Brasilia for Moraes's trial at the Supreme Court, set for 10 a.m. on Tuesday (15). "We are hopeful that tomorrow, during the Supreme Court session, they will carry out the role that is, in fact, ours," Marinho said.
Tuesday's ruling
The court's full bench meets in a special session to weigh a Federal Police report on messages exchanged between Moraes and former banker Daniel Vorcaro, owner of the defunct Banco Master. Justices will decide whether the material justifies a formal probe into Moraes. According to G1, sources inside the court expect a tight 4-3 vote in favor of opening some form of inquiry.
Moraes spoke publicly about the case for the first time on Monday, according to G1. In a filing sent to Chief Justice Luiz Edson Fachin, he denied any wrongdoing, said he never favored Vorcaro or Banco Master, and described the investigation ordered by Justice André Mendonça as "absolutely unconstitutional and illegal".
Tuesday settles both fronts. At 10 a.m. the court votes on whether Moraes becomes a formal suspect. At the Senate, if Alcolumbre does not put the impeachment on the agenda, the opposition promises to freeze the chamber's work in the middle of the 2026 presidential campaign.