Brazil's presidential election is one month away, and the government plans of the 13 candidates point in very different directions for the Supreme Federal Court (STF), the country's top constitutional court. Reviews by g1, Globo's news portal, and Poder360, both published on Saturday (5), found six candidates with concrete proposals to change the court's structure or operation. The ideas range from restricting the justices' powers to abolishing the court.
The judiciary became a campaign issue amid the crisis surrounding investigations tied to Banco Master, which involve court justices, the federal prosecutors' office (PGR) and the Federal Police, as g1 reports. Poder360 names justices Alexandre de Moraes and André Mendonça as the center of the episode, and says the case widened the debate over conflicts of interest and oversight of the court.
Those who want to restrain the court
The plan of Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL), second in the Datafolha poll released on September 3, proposes ending the STF's original criminal jurisdiction, which today lets the court try members of Congress. They would instead be judged by lower courts such as the Superior Court of Justice and the regional federal courts. He also promises to restrict rulings issued by a single justice, impose a one-year quarantine before Cabinet ministers could be nominated to the court, and bar law firms that employ relatives of justices up to the third degree from practicing before them. According to Poder360, the plan would focus the court on its constitutional function.
Former Minas Gerais governor Romeu Zema (Novo) proposes fighting what he calls "judicial activism". His plan sets a minimum age of 60 for new justices and requires "an exemplary legal career with no party militancy". He wants to end single-justice rulings, limit the privileged forum that sends politicians' cases to the top court, and strip the STF of jurisdiction over criminal and tax matters. The plan also creates an independent inspector general to police the justices, according to Poder360.
Those who want to change its makeup
Augusto Cury (Avante) backs the deepest overhaul. New justices would serve fixed eight-year terms; today they stay until mandatory retirement at 75. The bench would shrink from 11 to nine members, with six from the judiciary, two from the prosecutors' office and one from the bar. The president would lose the power to pick justices: they would be chosen by their own professional classes. The minimum age would rise to 50, and anyone with party membership in the previous five years could not be named. At least three of the nine seats would be reserved for women.
On the left, Edmilson Costa (PCB) proposes 10-year terms, open to revocation, for members of regional and superior courts. Samara Martins (UP) wants direct elections for judges and the superior courts. Rui Costa Pimenta (PCO) goes further and proposes abolishing the STF, with judges and prosecutors elected. All three plans appear in the Poder360 survey.
The other six candidates have no specific STF proposals, according to Poder360: Pablo Marçal (PRTB), Hertz Dias (PSTU), Renan Santos (Missão), Ronaldo Caiado (PSD), Wilson Grassi (Partido Democrata) and Clariana Barão (DC). President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), who is seeking reelection, does not mention the court directly in his plan. It acknowledges that Brazilian courts are slow because of a flood of cases and appeals, and calls for permanent dialogue with the judiciary. Poder360 says the plan speaks of "improvement" without detailing an institutional reform. Caiado proposes using artificial intelligence in the justice system, and Renan Santos wants specialized courts to judge criminal gangs, g1 reports.
Under Article 101 of the Constitution, STF justices must be native-born Brazilians, between 35 and 70 years old, with notable legal knowledge and an unblemished reputation. They are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Any change to the court's structure requires a constitutional amendment approved by three-fifths of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate in two rounds of voting.
The first round is scheduled for October 4. The candidate order in the g1 review follows the Datafolha poll released on September 3: Lula leads, followed by Flávio Bolsonaro, Renan Santos, Ronaldo Caiado and Augusto Cury.