Cafezinho: the video that could bring down Joaquim Barbosa

The Coffee Pay attention to this video. In it, Joaquim Barbosa speaks numerous untruths, in addition to his usual attacks on the rights of defendants.

This is a vote from May 12, 2011. The issue at hand is whether or not the Supreme Federal Court (STF) should release the records of Inquiry 2474 to some defendants in Criminal Action 470. Barbosa had kept Inquiry 2474 secret since receiving it in March 2007. In early 2011, a small part was leaked to the press, and several defendants in Criminal Action 470 requested access from the STF to the complete inquiry, which comprises 78 volumes. Barbosa, then the rapporteur for Criminal Action 470, refused, and the case went to a vote. In the end, Barbosa won, with the help of Ayres Brito, who broke the tie.

Barbosa states that inquiry 2474 deals with other defendants and matters unrelated to the Workers' Party's mensalão scandal.

Lie.

The report from Inquiry 2474 deals with the defendants who are also in Criminal Action 470, such as Marcos Valério and his partners, and Henrique Pizzolato and Gushiken. And it includes documents, right on its first pages, of payments from Banco do Brasil to DNA, related to Visanet campaigns. Now, the cornerstone of the mensalão scandal was the alleged diversion of funds from Visanet, totaling R$ 74 million, to DNA, without the corresponding provision of services. How can Inquiry 2474 deal with different matters?

Barbosa says that the Federal Police took care "not to investigate, in Inquiry 2474, anything that is already being investigated in Criminal Action 470".

Lie.

In inquiry 2474, one of the most analyzed documents is Report 2828, which investigates the use of Visanet resources, the main subject of Criminal Action 470.

Celso de Mello gives a brilliant lesson on the importance, for the defense, of knowing all the documents that may help them. And he votes against the rapporteur, in favor of the defendants' request.

Barbosa positions himself, as always, as a merciless and irritated accuser, with no interest whatsoever in giving more space to the defense.

Note also that Celso de Mello makes subtle ironic jabs at the "swift" way in which Barbosa is handling this process (Criminal Action 470), "in particular." In other words, Mello practically accuses Barbosa of sponsoring an exceptional trial.

Celso de Mello warns that maintaining secrecy over documents that could help the defendants constitutes a "restriction of the right to a defense."

Barbosa acted, as always, like a ruthless, medieval inquisitor. Ayres Brito and Luis Fux, as usual, voted in line with Barbosa.

It is unbelievable that the Supreme Federal Court (STF), a place where supposedly all individual guarantees should be ensured to citizens persecuted by the State, has suddenly transformed itself into a court of exception, with an inquisitorial profile, in which the rights of the defense have been systematically treated as mere "tricks," "useless postponements."

All the rules were broken, a thousand exceptions were created, all to summarily condemn someone.

In this video, we have proof that Barbosa acted deliberately to curtail the right to defense. This is the worst crime a Supreme Court justice can commit, and it justifies an impeachment request.

However, the video reveals Barbosa's nervousness in ruling out any possibility of bringing the information from inquiry 2474 into the debates.

Celso de Mello then points out that the plenary session was still in the investigation phase, and that therefore it was the appropriate time to enrich the debate with more information, to which Barbosa replies, with his usual arrogance, that the investigation phase was "almost over." As if to say: "Don't bother me, I want to finish this circus quickly; let's condemn these guys as soon as possible; we have to give satisfaction to Rede Globo." 

PS: Since some people are complaining that the video's sound isn't very good, I'm providing the full transcripts of the ministers' speeches below in a SlideShare file.