Lula advised to appeal before complying with Mendonça ruling and convene Republic Council

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been advised to challenge a Supreme Court decision before complying with it and to convene Brazil’s Republic Council as the dispute over the Federal Police leadership intensifies.

The advice came from Marco Aurélio Carvalho, the legal coordinator of Lula’s presidential campaign. Carvalho said Lula should appeal to the full Supreme Court and urgently meet Chief Justice Edson Fachin. He argued that the government must use democratic procedures and the state’s formal institutional channels.

“Based on Article 89 of the Federal Constitution, regulated by Law 8041, President Lula can and should convene the Republic Council, which is an advisory body to the Presidency of the Republic,” Carvalho told Estadão’s Coluna. “Elections, in any democracy, must be contested through voting. We cannot allow public offices to be captured again by political and electoral interests. The government should appeal to the full court, even before complying with the decision, given the seriousness of the measure. President Lula should urgently meet with Justice Fachin, president of the Supreme Court. Democracy itself is at stake.”

The recommendation aims to keep the case away from the court’s Second Panel. Justice Luiz Fux, who heads the panel, scheduled a virtual session on Tuesday from 10 a.m. until 11:59 p.m. to consider Mendonça’s decision. Justice Gilmar Mendes then requested access to the case files, blocking deliberation by the panel, where the government believes Mendonça has a majority in favor of his position.

The article says Mendes had recently argued in a meeting with Lula that the government and the Federal Police should challenge and not follow any Mendonça orders considered “illegal” or “excessive.” In July, Andrei Rodrigues asked Attorney General Jorge Messias to challenge Mendonça’s decisions, but Messias declined. Mendes has argued that the Federal Police director could declare illegal orders unenforceable and ask the judiciary to suspend them.

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Based on Article 89 of the Federal Constitution, regulated by Law 8041, President Lula can and should convene the Republic Council, which is an advisory body to the Presidency of the Republic. Elections, in any democracy, must be contested through voting. We cannot allow public offices to be captured again by political and electoral interests. The government should appeal to the full court, even before complying with the decision, given the seriousness of the measure. President Lula should urgently meet with Justice Fachin, president of the Supreme Court. Democracy itself is at stake.