Brazil's Supreme Court decides to put to trial an appeal that could allow independent candidacies.

Reuters - The majority of ministers of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) decided this Thursday to hold a trial on an appeal that could allow a candidate for elected office to run without being affiliated with a political party, the so-called independent candidacy.

By a vote of 6 to 4, the justices followed the position of the rapporteur for the appeal, Luis Roberto Barroso, who was in favor of reviewing the appeal.

The Court understood that the analysis of the specific case was compromised because the concrete situation could no longer be reversed. However, they overcame the particular case and determined that it was possible to analyze the legal argument.

The specific case involved a lawyer who attempted to run for mayor of Rio de Janeiro in 2016 without party affiliation, but was ultimately barred by the Electoral Court. After successive appeals, the case reached the Supreme Federal Court (STF).

The trial on the merits, however, has not yet begun and there is no date set for it to occur. The matter will have general repercussions, meaning that the Supreme Court's plenary decision will have to be followed by all lower courts.

Loose
First to vote, rapporteur Roberto Barroso, of the Supreme Federal Court (STF), stated that, although the particular case is prejudiced, the debate is relevant and should indeed be judged by the court. "I understand that it is a constitutional issue," said the minister.

However, Justice Alexandre de Moraes disagreed with Barroso. He argued that the appeal should be considered inadmissible for technical reasons. According to him, the type of legal instrument used is not valid for discussing the issue. Justice Ricardo Lewandowski also opposed this view.

“We cannot carry out political reform based on a jurisprudential decision,” stated Lewandowski, emphasizing that, however relevant the debate may be, the Supreme Court is not the appropriate forum to discuss the issue. “One cannot cherry-pick the topic abstractly to give it general repercussion,” he stressed.

According to Marco Aurélio, another dissenting vote, "this is a time for moderation, not for exacerbating the crisis in Brazil."

Minister Gilmar Mendes, president of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), also disagreed with the possibility of judging the issue through this appeal. "I am also fascinated by the debate, it is extremely important, but I think there are obstacles to this discussion," he said.

However, Justices Edson Fachin, Rosa Weber, Luiz Fux, Celso de Mello, and the Court's president, Cármen Lúcia, supported Barroso's position. "The specific case becomes less important, but the thesis to be discussed becomes more relevant," argued the senior Justice Celso de Mello.

Mendes, after the majority was formed, went so far as to state that, under his leadership, the TSE (Superior Electoral Court) would not be able to process candidacies of people who are not affiliated with political parties. "We are not in a position to hold elections with independent candidates," he warned.