The Supreme Federal Court (STF) contributed to destabilizing democracy.

By Aquiles Lins, for the Journalists for Democracy - Minister Dias Toffoli must be mocking Brazilians. During lecture At Harvard, he said that the Supreme Federal Court (STF) was a "factor of democratic stability" in Brazil. Since 2014, this branch of government has been doing precisely the opposite. The Supreme Federal Court cowered before the blatant abuses of Lava Jato. The ministers allowed a lower court judge to wiretap the President of the Republic and release her conversation to the press. Is that a factor of democratic stability?

The Brazilian Supreme Court did not oppose the 2016 coup. President Dilma Rousseff was removed from office through impeachment without proof of any crime of responsibility. And the Supreme Court watched as the Constitution was attacked, the sovereignty of the popular vote was subverted by a gang of thieves who wanted to avoid prison, and did nothing. The Supreme Court didn't even judge the action questioning the merits of the impeachment. Regrettably, the Supreme Court ended up legitimizing Romero Jucá's prediction of a coup "with the Supreme Court involved." How did this conduct contribute to the stability of Brazilian democracy?

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The Brazilian Supreme Court (STF) allowed the illegal coercive detention of Lula, a clearly authoritarian and media-driven act, and only more than two years later, on June 14, 2018, did it prohibit coercive detentions. The STF unilaterally overturned Lula's appointment to the Civil House. There is no doubt that this was a political act that contributed to destabilizing a legitimately elected government.

The Supreme Federal Court also dishonored its mission to protect the 1988 Constitution when it decided to hijack Article 5 and eliminate the presumption of innocence for all Brazilian citizens. This was one of the STF's greatest contributions to the destabilization of democracy. Because it allowed the greatest political leader the country has ever produced to be imprisoned and prevented from running in the elections. The STF helped prevent the Brazilian people from expressing their democratic desire to vote for Lula. The STF failed to assert itself as the guardian of fundamental rights and yielded to pressure from the Army commander when, on March 4th, it denied Lula's habeas corpus petition.

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The Supreme Federal Court (STF) allowed the rise to the Presidency of the Republic of a habitual aggressor of the Constitution, a person who makes no secret of his contempt for democratic values ​​and principles, and who defends the Military Dictatorship. The STF has a military advisor on its staff! To what extent does this contribute to the stability of democracy if not to its deterioration?

It sounds cynical or mocking, in light of all the facts, and many others besides, for the president of the Supreme Federal Court to say that "if the people were able to choose their representative for President of the Republic, it was thanks to the Supreme Federal Court." It was precisely thanks to the Supreme Federal Court that the people were unable to choose their representative for the Presidency of the Republic. And today the country is governed by someone with the profile of Jair Bolsonaro.

Spare us, Minister.

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