Veja magazine claims that Lula has already decided that Zanin is the chosen candidate for the Supreme Court.

247 - President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has reportedly already made his decision regarding the choice of a replacement for Minister Ricardo Lewandowski on the Supreme Federal Court (STF), according to the magazine. VejaCiting "a long-time member of the Workers' Party with ties to the legal world," Lula decided that he will nominate lawyer Cristiano Zanin Martins for the position. 

"Out of courtesy, Zanin's confirmation would only be announced after Lewandowski's retirement was formalized, which is expected to be around April 11th. If something extraordinary happens before then, Lula might change his mind, but today's conversation had the tone of 'the game is over' for the other contenders," the magazine says. 

>>> "Zanin is one of the greatest revelations in law, and I'm not going to nominate someone just because they're a friend," says Lula about the Supreme Court.

Lewandowski anticipates departure.

In a private conversation, Minister Ricardo Lewandowski personally informed President Lula of his decision to bring forward his retirement to shortly after the Easter holiday.

There were requests from ministers of the Supreme Court and the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) for him to stay until May 11, when he will turn 75. Lewandowski is expected to send the official letter formalizing his retirement request by the end of this week.

The meeting between Lula and Lewandowski took place last week in Recife, when the Supreme Court minister approved on Wednesday (22) the agreement between the Union and the state of Pernambuco for shared management of the Fernando de Noronha archipelago.