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🇦🇷 Argentina /Crime & Justice

Brazil’s Supreme Court crisis deepens as Lula calls for transparent investigation

From La Nación · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Under investigation
  • President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called for an investigation without protecting anyone into the Banco Master corruption scandal, which has triggered a crisis inside Brazil’s Supreme Court.
  • Police disclosed messages from jailed banker Daniel Vorcaro to a number attributed to Justice Alexandre de Moraes, while Justice Andre Mendonça ordered an inquiry into whether Moraes was the recipient.
  • Moraes has asked the court to investigate Mendonça for alleged misconduct, abuse of authority and favoritism toward political groups as the dispute unfolds before October’s election.

Brazil’s Supreme Court is fighting in public over a corruption scandal that President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has called “the biggest theft in Brazil’s history.” With the presidential election only a month away, Lula demanded an investigation “without shielding anyone.”

without shielding anyone

· Luiz Inacio Lula da SilvaLula’s demand for a broad investigation into the Banco Master scandal.

The case centers on Daniel Vorcaro, the jailed former owner of Banco Master. The bank collapsed with debts of more than $7 billion to hundreds of investors. Police are examining Vorcaro’s links to figures in politics and the justice system.

A police report released this week revealed messages from Vorcaro to a number attributed to Justice Alexandre de Moraes. In one message, sent before Vorcaro’s arrest, the banker asked: “Do you think I have to be out of the country by Monday?” In another, he wrote: “Always together. You know that I owe you my whole life.” The report does not include replies from the person who received the messages.

the biggest theft in Brazil’s history

· Luiz Inacio Lula da SilvaLula’s description of the Banco Master case.

Justice Andre Mendonça ordered the investigation to be opened by lifting the case’s secrecy and asking whether the number belonged to Moraes. Moraes responded by asking the court to investigate Mendonça for indications of misconduct, abuse of authority and favoritism toward certain political groups.

It is essential that everyone be investigated, whoever it hurts

· Luiz Inacio Lula da SilvaLula’s call for investigators to examine all parties without exception.

The dispute has added to tensions inside the court. Its president, Edson Fachin, gave both justices time to respond after the Public Prosecutor’s Office declared Mendonça’s request invalid. Fachin said the facts remain under investigation and that no authority stands above Brazil’s Federal Constitution. Moraes, one of Brazil’s most powerful officials, presided over the 2025 trial that sent former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro to prison for an attempted coup. Bolsonaro appointed Mendonça to the court. Lula is seeking reelection against Bolsonaro’s son, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro.

Always together. You know that I owe you my whole life.

· Daniel VorcaroA message from the jailed banker to a number attributed to Justice Alexandre de Moraes.
About this summary

Originally published by La Nación in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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