Veja equates Joaquim Barbosa with the law itself.
Criticized by legal experts such as Celso Bandeira de Mello and Dalmo Dallari for having conducted the first arrests in Criminal Action 470 in an illegal and arbitrary manner, the president of the Supreme Federal Court, Joaquim Barbosa, is once again rescued by Veja magazine, which transforms him into a synonym for the law itself; it is yet another chapter in a dangerous march that attempts to transform a current hero of the publication – whose past as an aggressor was recorded in the pages of the magazine itself – into an all-powerful arbiter of Justice in Brazil, even if it means suppressing constitutional rights and guarantees.
247 - A few days ago, intellectuals, representatives of civil society, and prominent jurists, such as Celso Bandeira de Mello and Dalmo Dallari, signed a manifesto against Joaquim Barbosa, questioning his qualifications and good faith (read hereThe reason: in the view of these people, the president of the Supreme Federal Court committed illegalities when executing the first sentences of those convicted in Criminal Action 470.
"The president of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) requested the arrests, but only issued the sentencing orders, which should have guided the judge responsible for enforcing the sentences, 48 hours after everyone was already imprisoned. This is a blatant disregard for the Law of Penal Executions, raising doubts about Joaquim Barbosa's preparedness or good faith in conducting the process. It is an unacceptable error that compromises the image and reputation of the Supreme Federal Court and is already provoking reactions from society and the legal community. The STF needs to react to avoid becoming a hostage of its president," says the text of the manifesto, which gave rise to an online petition that already has 7,2 signatures (read more). here).
In Parliament, Senator Jorge Viana (PT-AC) sent an official letter to the Minister of Justice, José Eduardo Cardozo, requesting an investigation into illegalities committed during the arrests. And Cardozo himself, when pressured by lawyer Luiz Eduardo Greenhalgh, was forced to speak, having to defend the serving of sentences under a semi-open regime, as decided by the full Supreme Federal Court.
In other words, for those who address the issue honestly, it is clear that Joaquim Barbosa was wrong. And it doesn't matter if he did so due to lack of preparation or good faith, as the jurists' manifesto points out, or even to fuel a possible political project.
However, this weekend, Veja decided to take another step in its attempt to convert the unstable Joaquim Barbosa into the plenipotentiary of Brazilian Justice. The cover transforms him into a synonym for the law itself, when there are serious doubts as to whether he does not, in practice, behave like an "outlaw," as journalist Breno Altman pointed out (read here (your article).
In the report, however, Veja claims Barbosa made no mistake – surely, Celso Bandeira de Mello and Dalmo Dallari must be wrong. It also points out that prisoners are being granted "privileges." In other words: the movement, driven by the media, to suppress constitutional rights and guarantees in Brazil continues at an accelerated pace.
Below is a news report published by Veja ten years ago, when Barbosa was chosen for the Supreme Court:
Finally, a black man gets there.
By appointing a black minister to
Lula sends a message to the Supreme Court.
emblematic of society
Policarpo Junior
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has taken initiatives that combine unprecedented nature with strong symbolic content. After taking office, he led a caravan of ministers to a favela in Pernambuco. Days ago, he left the Planalto Palace at the head of 27 governors to deliver the proposals for pension and tax reforms to the National Congress. Last week, when announcing the names of the three new ministers of the Supreme Federal Court (STF), Lula also took the opportunity to send a message to the society that elected him president. Among those chosen is the public prosecutor Joaquim Benedito Barbosa Gomes, 48 years old, the first black person appointed to the country's highest court since its creation in 1829. Born in Minas Gerais, graduated in Brasília, with a doctorate from Paris and working in Rio de Janeiro, Barbosa Gomes built his career from humble origins. The son of a bricklayer, he always studied in public schools, lived in a boarding house while attending the University of Brasília, and worked as a typist to support himself, in the early hours of the morning.
Celebrating his nomination, Barbosa Gomes was the first to acknowledge the symbolism of his ascension. "I see it as an act of great significance that signals to society the end of certain visible and invisible barriers," he said. "I may become the first openly Black minister," he added. This is because, in the history of the Supreme Federal Court (STF), there have already been two Black ministers – one dark-skinned mulatto, Hermenegildo de Barros, minister from 1919 until his retirement in 1937, and another light-skinned mulatto, Pedro Lessa, minister from 1907 until his death in 1921. Both were born in the interior of Minas Gerais, like Barbosa Gomes, but neither was "openly Black" nor of such humble origin – which lends the current nomination a symbolism that is both ethnic and social. In his youth, Barbosa Gomes worked at dawn, studied in the morning, and slept in the afternoon. At university, he supported himself as an employee of the Senate's printing press and, before graduating, took the entrance exam for the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Itamaraty). As a chancery officer, he served in Finland. Later, he earned a doctorate in Paris and became a visiting professor at two American universities – Columbia, in New York, and UCLA, in Los Angeles. He is fluent in English, French, and German. He has published two books. One in French, about the Supreme Court in the Brazilian political system, and another in Portuguese, regarding the legal issue of affirmative action in favor of Black people.
From the beginning, Lula wanted to appoint someone from São Paulo, someone from the Northeast, and a Black person. The chosen Northeasterner is Carlos Ayres Britto, from Sergipe. With left-leaning positions, he was a candidate for federal deputy for the PT (Workers' Party) and recently signed a manifesto of jurists against agreements with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The São Paulo native is Judge Antonio Cezar Peluso, whose slightly conservative profile aroused resistance from the Minister of the Civil House, José Dirceu, for whom the ideal minister was Eros Grau, a jurist with a left-leaning background. With his nomination sponsored by the Minister of Justice, Márcio Thomaz Bastos, who insisted on his name until the last minute, Peluso ended up winning. Beforehand, he had a long conversation with an old friend of Lula's, Deputy Sigmaringa Seixas. In the conversation, Seixas wanted to sound out the future minister's positions regarding pension and tax reforms – and did not come away with the impression that his interlocutor was a jurist with a conservative stance. "He has progressive positions," commented Minister Thomaz Bastos, at the height of discussions surrounding the nominees. The final result satisfied the Presidential Palace, since, at least in principle and in theory, the three nominees have positions sympathetic to the reforms, the main political project currently underway for President Lula.
The nomination of Barbosa Gomes, which seemed to be the least complex, ended up being the most laborious. He was one of the first chosen, as his biography perfectly encompassed the aspects that Lula wanted to highlight: black, of humble origin, and with a good academic background. However, along the way, Minister Márcio Thomaz Bastos, who was responsible for listening to the candidates and presenting the names to the president, was informed of an embarrassing episode from Barbosa Gomes's biography. Many years ago, when he still lived in Brasília, he was separating from his then-wife, Marileuza, and the couple was disputing custody of their only son – Felipe, now 18 years old. On that occasion, Barbosa Gomes lost control and physically assaulted Marileuza, who even filed a complaint at the nearest police station. The government feared that Barbosa Gomes would become a case like that of Clarence Thomas, the Black Supreme Court Justice who, upon being appointed to the position, was accused of sexual harassment, generating a damaging scandal.
While the government was deciding what to do, comments started popping up within the Supreme Court itself. Minister Ellen Gracie, the only woman on the court, expressed concern during a break between sessions. "Is a wife-beater going to come here?" she asked her colleague Carlos Velloso. "It was a traumatic separation," Velloso reconciled. "But is there any separation that isn't traumatic?" interjected Minister Gilmar Mendes. To lighten the mood, Minister Nelson Jobim made a sexist joke, under the pretext of justifying the aggression: "The woman was his." The government worried unnecessarily. When questioned about the episode by the Minister of Justice, Barbosa Gomes explained that it had been a difficult disagreement, but one that had been overcome. Days later, Barbosa Gomes sent a letter to the Civil Cabinet of the Presidency of the Republic, signed by his ex-wife, reaffirming that everything had been resolved. Moreover, in the letter, Marileuza defended her ex-husband – who did not remarry and now lives with their son. "In truth, there was mutual aggression. This happened on a day when tempers were high. We are still friends today," Marileuza told VEJA. "It was a family fight caused by natural resentments in a separation," Barbosa Gomes explained to the magazine. With this, the government completed the trio of Supreme Court justices without fear. Now, only the Senate's approval of the three candidates is needed.