In a significant move, Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has put forward Jorge Messias, the current Solicitor General, as his nominee for the Supreme Court. This marks Lula’s third nomination to the high court during his current term.
The decision now awaits a Senate vote, which, if successful, will see Messias taking over the position left vacant by former Justice Luís Roberto Barroso, who retired earlier than expected, eight years before the mandatory retirement age.
On Instagram, Lula expressed his confidence in Messias, stating, “I make this recommendation confident that Messias will continue fulfilling his role in defending the Constitution and the rule of law in the Supreme Court, as he has done throughout his public life.”
At 45, Messias has had a varied career within the federal government and was appointed as the solicitor general in 2023. His longstanding loyalty to Lula and former President Dilma Rousseff, who was impeached in 2016 after succeeding Lula, is well recognized.
Justice André Mendonça, a 2021 appointee of former President Jair Bolsonaro, praised Messias’ nomination: “He is a qualified candidate from the Solicitor General’s Office and meets the constitutional requirements. I also commend the president for his choice. Messias will have my full support in a republican dialogue with the senators.”
Brazil’s Supreme Court, composed of 11 members, has faced considerable scrutiny since 2023. This year began with Bolsonaro supporters vandalizing the court’s building in Brasilia on January 8. The former far-right president was subsequently investigated and brought to trial. Under the leadership of Barroso, a Supreme Court panel sentenced Bolsonaro in September to 27 years and three months in prison for his involvement in plotting a coup, which included the aforementioned riots.
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