Marco Aurélio tells Bolsonaro to apologize to Maria do Rosário.

By Alex Solnik, for the Journalists for Democracy - Minister Marco Aurélio Mello, one of the most hated figures by the government, has just made a decision that will further increase that hatred. He rejected the appeal from President Jair Bolsonaro's defense and upheld the conviction for moral damages for Bolsonaro's 2014 offense against Congresswoman Maria do Rosário (PT). "I'm only not raping you because you don't deserve it," he said publicly in the Chamber of Deputies, visibly breaking parliamentary decorum and all rules of civility. Worse, he trivialized rape, as Paulo Maluf did years before when he said: "Rape, but don't kill."

Bolsonaro escaped the Chamber of Deputies' Ethics Committee. But he was convicted by the Federal District Court of Justice in 2015 and also by the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) in 2017. Marco Aurélio Mello explained that presidential immunity does not apply to situations in the civil sphere, such as this one. The fine is insignificant. The worst part is the rest of the sentence: apologizing to the congresswoman in a statement in newspapers, on his Facebook page, and in a video posted on YouTube. Marco Aurélio Mello is one of the four Supreme Court justices that the government plans to remove this year.

In the proposed pension reform, Minister Paulo Guedes plans to lower the maximum retirement age in the public service to 70 years, five years less than today. On the list of those facing dismissal, in addition to Marco Aurélio Mello, are Celso de Mello, Ricardo Lewandowski, and Rosa Weber.

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