Fux, history will make you pay the price for your selfishness.

On the 29th, the country's Supreme Court (STF) will see the inauguration of yet another president: Minister Edson Fachin will assume the position, with Minister Alexandre de Moraes as vice-president. No one should miss the inauguration. Despite this, both have been working hard to personally invite prominent figures of the Republic. They have already visited the office of the President of the Senate, Davi Alcolumbre, are preparing for a visit to the office of the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Hugo Motta, and hope to do the same, that is, to personally deliver the inauguration invitation to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Minister Luís Roberto Barroso, who had been hinting at his desire to retire, stepped out of the spotlight until, on August 18th, at an event in Cuiabá (MT), he denied the rumors. On that occasion, when directly questioned, he promptly retorted: "No, I'm not going to retire. I'm happy with my life."

It seems so. Anyone who saw him at the table at the end of Jair Bolsonaro's trial, on our September 11th, has no reason to doubt it.

The atmosphere, which had soured the previous day when the country grew weary of hearing Minister Luiz Fux's monotonous voice for 13 hours, chewing words that opened up avenues of possibilities for the defense of the accused (mainly Bolsonaro), regained its lightness with the striking and personalized text of Minister Cármen Lúcia. However, what followed was the arrival of the president of the Court, Luiz Roberto Barroso, who was invited by Alexandre de Moraes to immediately take a seat at the table. Yes, everyone has already recounted this scene, but it needs to be "sliced" to fit Fux's concept, in order to give it the importance it deserves.

At that moment, with the country's eyes glued to the Supreme Court's table, where the landmark between the past and the present, between democracy and the disregard for its principles, was being decided, Barroso's presence at the table reinforced the symbolism of the date, the judgment, and the outcome. Not forgetting that, in the audience, next to Cármen Lúcia's sister (Maria Luiza), was the senior justice Gilmar Mendes, who also had no function there other than to applaud the final decision.

Both, however, attested to the need to ratify the role of the first panel. They realized the importance of highlighting the unnecessary nature of the full court in a vote with the authority to dispel any doubt regarding this "preliminary" argument from the defense, which sought to discredit the seriousness and commitment of that court.

Without his robe – his role was a civic improvisation – he went to the table to perform the function of "luxury secretary" to the reporting minister, Alexandre de Moraes, as if he were with him. There, invested more with the gesture of solidarity and responsibility for the occasion, he took notes, calculated the dosage, and made sure to echo, without needing to say much, that the Supreme Federal Court was on the side of the four members of the First Chamber, standing united in defense of sovereignty.

Yes, more than democracy and the end of authoritarianism, the presence of the president of the Supreme Federal Court at that table defied external threats that the trial should be interrupted IMMEDIATELY. His gesture was more than endorsing the votes; it was about standing by and supporting the outcome. Luís Barroso, despite being on Donald Trump's list, the current president of the United States, as one of the ministers who could be affected by the Magnitsky Act (and already having his visa revoked), preferred to say to the country and the world – if that is indeed the center of the world: to hell with Mastercard.

Both Gilmar Mendes and Luís Roberto Barroso – despite having sparked controversies in the past – have aligned themselves with the present, inscribing themselves in an important slice of history.

No one saw a gesture, a word, an explanation about the fact that Luiz Fux was never mentioned as potentially liable to punishment from the US. Two other members of the Supreme Court, for reasons well known, are not on Trump's agenda. As for Fux, even though his positions are well-known (on the right), he didn't publicly attempt a disguise – the kind he already uses – when his colleague Moraes was hit by the outrageous Magnitsky Act. Zero solidarity, zero empathy, zero indignation. We give him a zero for behavior. History will exact a price for such selfishness.