Two points outside the curve.

The past week allowed Brazil to get to know two figures who could contribute – significantly – to the country's return to institutional normalcy. The first was the new Supreme Court Justice, Luís Roberto Barroso, approved by the Senate plenary. The second is the Deputy Attorney General of the Republic, Deborah Duprat, who may succeed Roberto Gurgel as head of the Public Prosecutor's Office.

Barroso arrives at the Supreme Court with an unquestionable academic background and the support of practically all of society – except for those more obscurantist sectors. He is so respected that Senator Aécio Neves (PSDB-MG) himself made a point of publicly acknowledging the wisdom of his opponent Dilma Rousseff in choosing him. Of the statements made during the confirmation hearing, the most notable was that the trial of Criminal Action 470, the so-called mensalão scandal, was an "outlier" in the history of the Supreme Court – which is undeniable.

However, his most relevant statement concerns the separation of powers and was a direct message addressed to Minister Gilmar Mendes, who, with an injunction, prevented the processing of a bill on party loyalty. "When the Legislative branch acts, the Judiciary must step back, unless there is a clear affront to the Constitution," he stated last Wednesday. "The judge will only have the final say if it is an entrenched clause; everything else can have its final say given by Congress."

On the same day, just a few meters away, the full Supreme Court began analyzing Gilmar's injunction – which will likely be overturned. The most striking statement came from Deputy Attorney General Deborah Duprat, who was substituting for her boss, Roberto Gurgel, who was traveling abroad. "I'm sorry, but I can't remain silent," she said, before taking a position diametrically opposed to Gurgel's in the plenary session. According to Deborah, Gilmar's injunction represents a "serious precedent" and threatens democracy itself by denying Congress the right to define its own legislative agenda.

With her statement, the deputy attorney general, who is on the shortlist of three candidates before Dilma, may have gained ground in the race to succeed Gurgel and take over the leadership of the Public Prosecutor's Office – which would be the government's second consecutive success, following the selection of Barroso. Deborah also commented on the creation of new regional federal courts, enacted by Congress in a session presided over by Congressman André Vargas (PT-PR). "I see no unconstitutionality whatsoever."

With their gestures and words, Barroso and Deborah are beginning to restore to the National Congress its legitimate power, which had been usurped by the Judiciary. This is a good sign in a country that threatened to replace its democracy with a kind of supremacy. In fact, from the Supreme Federal Court (STF), from where the example should have come, came the mockery. When questioned about the creation of the new courts, which he firmly opposed, the president of the court, Joaquim Barbosa, responded in English: "Who cares?" In truth, those who care about the National Congress are those who value democracy.