Fux, an embarrassment to Brazilian justice.

Paulo Nogueira, Diary of the Center of the World

Can Feliciano stay where he is?

Brazilians seem to have a well-established answer to that.

And what about Judge Luiz Fux?

This is another discussion that must be addressed urgently by Brazilian society, given the importance of the Supreme Federal Court, of which Fux is a member.

The interview that Folha published today with José Dirceu, the defendant among the defendants in the Mensalão scandal, screams this – that it must be verified whether Fux can remain on the Supreme Court.

A demoralized judge demoralizes the Supreme Court: that's the point.

In the interview, Dirceu states that Fux sought his support for six months regarding his nomination to the Supreme Court.

Fux was a step below him, at the Superior Court of Justice (STJ). Dirceu was then a man of great influence in the government, and Fux had boundless ambition.

According to Dirceu, when the meeting finally took place, Fux promised him that he would acquit him in the trial.

The rest is history.

Dirceu's accusations clearly need to be investigated. But it should be remembered that he admitted to the same newspaper that he had indeed chased after Dirceu during his reckless pursuit of the Supreme Court.

The newspaper Folha wrote, after interviewing Fux a few months ago: "In the last year of Lula's government, Fux 'stuck' to Delfim Netto. He asked João Pedro Stedile, of the MST, for a letter of support. He counted on the help of Antônio Palocci. He asked for help from the governor of Rio, Sergio Cabral. He sought out businessmen. And he met with José Dirceu, the most famous defendant in the mensalão scandal."

Fux admitted to Folha that the meeting took place. "I went to several people in São Paulo, to Fiesp. On one of those visits, someone took me to Zé Dirceu because he was influential in Lula's government."

The most explosive encounter, naturally, was with Dirceu. At the time, the accusations against Dirceu were already widely known, general and unrestricted. And Dirceu would be judged, not long after, by the Supreme Federal Court, to which Fux was desperately trying to be admitted.

Is everything alright? Is that allowed? Is this really how things work?

Fux claims that when he contacted Dirceu, he didn't remember that Dirceu was a defendant in the Mensalão scandal. Even with the benefit of the doubt, it's one of those situations where Wellington's famous phrase applies: "He who believes this believes anything."

Fux demonstrates an unacceptable lack of balance for the Supreme Court. Consider his own account of the meeting he had with the Minister of Justice, José Eduardo Cardozo, in which he ended up receiving the news that he had achieved his objective: he was on the Supreme Court.

"Then I spent half an hour praying every prayer I know, every prayer imaginable. When he [Cardozo] opened the door, he said, 'Aren't you going to give me a hug? You're the next Supreme Court Justice.' That's when I cried. I let it all out."

In the trial, Fux basically endorsed everything Joaquim Barbosa defended, much to the frustration and anger of the people he had sought out to secure the nomination, starting with Dirceu.

Fux himself is overwhelming proof of how far the Supreme Court is from being the stronghold of Catos that many Brazilians naively believe it to be.

The Fux case has other ramifications, naturally.

The country urgently needs to find ways to separate the Judiciary and the Executive branches.

If Fux, despite his astonishing emotional weakness, ultimately reached the Supreme Court, it wasn't because he impressed with his work, knowledge, or character.

It was — as strongly suggested by the testimonies given to Folha by Dirceu and by Fux himself — because he said what those who would decide the choice wanted to hear.

That's not a good criterion. That's not a fair criterion.

The judiciary must maintain a dignified distance from politics—and from the media, equally. The photos of cheerful complicity between members of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) and journalists like Merval Pereira and Reinaldo Azevedo are morally repulsive. What impartiality could be expected from the STF when judging potential cases involving not exactly these journalists, small fry, but the companies for which they work? And what kind of journalistic treatment should readers expect from such a friendly relationship?

Like Feliciano in another sphere, Fux represents, today, a moral crisis in the Brazilian justice system, an embarrassment.

Since he did not nominate himself, it is important to remember that in order to consolidate the Brazilian justice system – and democracy – the methods of appointment must be urgently improved.