Flávio Bolsonaro campaign coordinator meets Gilmar Mendes amid STF scandal

Senator Rogério Marinho, the coordinator of Flávio Bolsonaro’s presidential campaign, met Supreme Court Justice Gilmar Mendes in Brasília on Wednesday, September 2, as an unprecedented crisis engulfed Brazil’s top court. The meeting took place in Mendes’ office and was presented as a sign of goodwill toward the institution.

The political tension intensified after Justice André Mendonça, the rapporteur in the Banco Master case, lifted the secrecy from a Federal Police report. The document compiled 51 messages exchanged between Justice Alexandre de Moraes and banker Daniel Vorcaro. The messages, whose contents were disclosed by Estadão, showed Vorcaro seeking advice and guidance from Moraes, including whether he should leave Brazil as authorities prepared to order his arrest.

Marinho said in a standardized statement, “We are convinced that we will win the elections and believe that the next government should preserve institutional dialogue, respect among the branches of government and democratic normality.”

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We are convinced that we will win the elections and believe that the next government should preserve institutional dialogue, respect among the branches of government and democratic normality.

Mendes had met President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva the previous day, when the crisis broke into the open. According to Estadão’s reporting, Mendes argued that the Federal Police should resist orders from Mendonça when it considered them excessive or illegal. He also outlined possible government responses to Mendonça’s decisions in the Banco Master and INSS cases. The latter involves an investigation into Lula’s son, Fábio Luís Lula da Silva, known as Lulinha.

Flávio Bolsonaro and his allies have been using the scandal to draw supporters to a campaign rally on São Paulo’s Avenida Paulista on September 7, Brazil’s Independence Day. During his weekly broadcast, Flávio urged supporters to attend, saying, “If there is one thing that makes Brasília tremble, it is street mobilization, the people and your dissatisfaction. Do not fail to go to Paulista on September 7. It is the day we will decide whether we give our country a push toward freedom or remain trapped in the sea of mud everyone is seeing.” His campaign began on August 16 with a Copacabana beach rally that drew about 9,000 people, according to Monitor do Debate Político.

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If there is one thing that makes Brasília tremble, it is street mobilization, the people and your dissatisfaction. Do not fail to go to Paulista on September 7. It is the day we will decide whether we give our country a push toward freedom or remain trapped in the sea of mud everyone is seeing.