Lula weighs Rio governor for Supreme Court seat as allies call for Andrei’s exit

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is considering an unusual way to address the crisis surrounding Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court: replacing his preferred nominee, Jorge Messias, with Rio de Janeiro’s interim governor, judge Ricardo Couto.

Supporters of Couto’s nomination say it would demonstrate institutional respect and help pacify the judiciary. Lula would give up, at least for now, the nomination of the head of the solicitor general’s office, a loyal ally, in favor of a figure outside the president’s personal circle. The move could also bring political benefits in Rio, Brazil’s third-largest electoral state.

Couto has held the interim governorship for four months. A recent Datafolha poll found that 47% of Rio voters approved of his performance, while 31% disapproved. Presidential aides said his name had been under consideration for about two months and returned to the discussion after a new confrontation among Supreme Court ministers.

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A cleanup.

Lula has publicly praised Couto’s work as the state’s intervention administrator. At an event in Bangu last month, the president said the judge was carrying out a cleanup in Rio and argued that Eduardo Paes, should he reach the Guanabara Palace, would have to continue it. Couto took over the state executive in March after Cláudio Castro resigned and ordered reviews of contracts and dismissals.

Giving up on Messias would nevertheless be a bitter defeat for Lula. The president had said he intended to resubmit Messias’s name after the Senate rejected it. Some of Lula’s allies therefore want the decision to be accompanied by the dismissal of Federal Police Director-General Andrei Rodrigues.

One faction of the government argues that Rodrigues, despite retaining Lula’s confidence, is losing the ability to lead a police force they say has been contaminated by Bolsonarism. His alignment with a Supreme Court faction represented by Alexandre de Moraes and Gilmar Mendes has also drawn criticism at the presidential palace. The dispute intensified as Rodrigues clashed with Justice André Mendonça over the Bank Master investigation. After Mendonça ordered a Federal Police report, the inquiry exposed messages exchanged between Moraes and former banker Daniel Vorcaro. Gilmar Mendes then contacted Lula to seek government support for the police leadership.

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If he reaches Guanabara Palace, Eduardo Paes will have to continue the cleanup carried out by Couto.