BRASILIA — Brazil’s Supreme Court Chief Justice Edson Fachin on Wednesday suspended rival rulings by fellow justices over the federal police chief’s tenure and called an extraordinary full-court session for next week, Reuters reported, framing the clash as the court’s biggest crisis since the return to democracy.
Justice Flávio Dino ordered Federal Police Director-General Andrei Rodrigues reinstated, reversing Justice André Mendonça’s Tuesday order removing Rodrigues and his intelligence chief over alleged intelligence reports monitoring Mendonça and other officials. A five-member panel had backed Mendonça; President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s government challenged the removals.
Fachin kept Rodrigues in place pending further review, gave him 48 hours to answer the allegations, and set a Sept. 15 session for the full 10-member bench to discuss Justice Alexandre de Moraes’s alleged ties to Banco Master’s Daniel Vorcaro after Mendonça publicized investigation material.
The crisis adds uncertainty to October’s presidential race between Lula and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro. Lula called Banco Master the “greatest financial crime in Brazil’s history” and said Brazilians “need explanations.” Bolsonaro blamed “chaos left behind by Lula.”
Sources: Reuters
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