The nomination of Jorge Messias, current Lula’s Attorney General of the Union, to the Supreme Federal Court (STF) by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has sparked strong reactions among legal and political sectors. Among the critics is retired judge Sebastião Coelho, who described the choice as a “mockery” and a “disrespect to the Constitution”, arguing that a lawyer for the president cannot sit on the Court that judges the president himself. For Coelho, the appointment violates the separation of powers and does not meet the constitutional requirements of notorious legal knowledge and unblemished reputation.
The retired judge also questioned whether the nominee meets the constitutional requirements set forth in Article 101 of the Constitution, which demands “notorious legal knowledge” and an “unblemished reputation” for the position of Supreme Court justice.
Sebastião Coelho urged the Senate to reject the nomination, warning that otherwise it would be complicit in the politicization of the judiciary. He emphasized that Messias’s appointment would be another step in the loss of credibility of the Supreme Court, since, the Court is increasingly subordinated to political interests in Brazil.
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Jorge Messias’s background
- Regulation of digital platforms: Messias argued before the Supreme Court proposing that big techs such as Google, Meta, and X should be held responsible for third-party content.
- Criticism of big techs: In international forums, he accused these companies of monopoly and lack of transparency, defending that algorithms should be opened to public scrutiny.
- PNDD: He created the National Attorney’s Office for the Defense of Democracy (PNDD), nicknamed by opponents as the “Ministry of Truth,” to combat what they want that is disinformation. Critics claim the initiative poses a risk to freedom of expression.
- Accusations of political persecution: Opposition lawmakers, such as Senator Jorge Seif (PL-SC), accuse Messias of using the Attorney General’s Office to persecute political opponents and instrumentalize state power.
Political and legal impact
The nomination of Messias reignites debate over:
- Freedom of expression vs. combating disinformation.
- Judicial independence in the face of political appointments.
- Risk of censorship on digital platforms.
- Geopolitics of big techs, since Messias’s proposals directly affect American companies.
