São Paulo (Brazil), 30 April (LaPresse/AP) – The Brazilian Senate has rejected the candidate nominated by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for the Supreme Court. This is the first such instance in 132 years: the last time this happened was in 1894, when the country’s second president, Floriano Peixoto, clashed with parliamentarians. This represents a major political blow for Lula. Yesterday, his nominee, Jorge Messias, received only 34 votes in favour, against 42 against. Among those voting against was Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair and himself a presidential candidate, who celebrated the result in the chamber alongside other senators who had voted against the nomination. Jorge Messias, 46, has served as Brazil’s Attorney General since 2023 and is a close legal adviser to Lula, having also worked for Lula’s former president and ally Dilma Rousseff. His appointment to the Supreme Court had already been approved by a Senate committee, but to pass in the plenary session he would have needed at least 41 votes in favour (cast by secret ballot). “I am grateful for every vote I received. I believe that each of us has a purpose, and I have fulfilled mine,” Messias told journalists in the capital, Brasília, after being rejected by the Senate, “such is life. There are days of victory, days of defeat. We must accept it.” Lula will now have to nominate another person for the role.
Brazil: Senate rejects Lula’s Supreme Court nominee – the first such case in 130 years
São Paulo (Brazil), 30 April (LaPresse/AP) – The Brazilian Senate has rejected the candidate nominated by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for the Supreme Court. This is the first such instance in 132 years: the last time this happened was in 1894, when the country’s second president, Floriano Peixoto, clashed with parliamentarians. This represents a major political blow for Lula. Yesterday, his nominee, Jorge Messias, received only 34 votes in favour, against 42 against. Among those voting against was Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair and himself a presidential candidate, who celebrated the result in the chamber alongside other senators who had voted against the nomination. Jorge Messias, 46, has served as Brazil’s Attorney General since 2023 and is a close legal adviser to Lula, having also worked for Lula’s former president and ally Dilma Rousseff. His appointment to the Supreme Court had already been approved by a Senate committee, but to pass in the plenary session he would have needed at least 41 votes in favour (cast by secret ballot). “I am grateful for every vote I received. I believe that each of us has a purpose, and I have fulfilled mine,” Messias told journalists in the capital, Brasília, after being rejected by the Senate, “such is life. There are days of victory, days of defeat. We must accept it.” Lula will now have to nominate another person for the role.
