STF President Edson Fachin to Address Crisis Involving Ministers Moraes and Mendonça

Edson Fachin, the president of the Supreme Federal Court (STF), has indicated his intention to bring the crisis involving ministers Alexandre de Moraes and André Mendonça to the court's plenary for discussion. Fachin signaled to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva that the accusations and questions emerging from the situation must be analyzed by the collective body of ministers rather than through individual decisions. This follows the release of a Federal Police report revealing conversations between Alexandre de Moraes and former banker Daniel Vorcaro.

Fachin stated that no authority is above the Constitution and that responses to grave facts will be firm, though he emphasized that the gravity of the events does not authorize shortcuts. His current strategy involves awaiting responses from Moraes and Mendonça before submitting the matter to the other members of the tribunal. There is an expectation that both Moraes and Mendonça may be asked to declare themselves impeded from voting in the resulting judgments.

Analysis of Fachin's leadership varies between reports. A center-leaning perspective suggests that Fachin's cautious approach of studying scenarios before acting has resulted in a loss of protagonism, leaving his leadership to be run over by other ministers. This analysis further suggests that the situation represents a broader crisis of the Supreme Court itself, noting that the court has become more focused on criminal matters than constitutional ones. Regarding potential votes on an investigation into Moraes, some ministers such as Flávio Dino, Gilmar Mendes, and Cristiano Zanin are expected to vote for nullity, while the positions of Cármen Lúcia and Fachin remain uncertain due to ethical considerations.