Brazil

Brazil Elections: Supreme Court

Is the Brazilian Supreme Court the country's last defender of democracy or is it the very threat it claims to fight?

AUG 23·Updated SEP 24

Context

Above: Partial view of Brazil's supreme court headquarters featuring the Statue of Justice on Sept 14, 2025. Image credit: Pablo Porciuncula/AFP/Getty Images

The Facts

Overview: The Brazilian Supreme Court (STF) serves as the country's highest judicial body as well as the guardian and interpreter of the Brazilian Constitution. Based in Brasília, the Court is responsible for deciding constitutional matters and extradition requests by foreign authorities. It comprises 11 justices chosen among native citizens aged 35 to 70 "with notable legal knowledge and unblemished reputation." They are appointed for life by the president (subject to Senate confirmation) and must retire at age 75. The court also retains original jurisdiction to try top officials, including the president and its own justices for common criminal offenses.
Supremo Tribunal Federal
Supremo Tribunal Federal
Reuters
SCOTUSblog
Composition: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva appointed a plurality of four sitting justices, followed by two each from Jair Bolsonaro and Dilma Rousseff, and one each from Michel Temer and Fernando Henrique Cardoso. The next president is due to appoint at least four new justices: one seat has been vacant since the retirement of Luís Roberto Barroso in 2025, as the Senate blocked Lula's replacement nominee, Attorney General Jorge Messias; and three justices — Luiz Fux, Cármen Lúcia and Gilmar Mendes — will reach mandatory retirement age during the incoming presidential term.
Reuters
Supremo Tribunal Federal
Courthouse News Service
Estadão
SCOTUSblog
Public Confidence: Polls ahead of the 2026 elections show trust in the STF at its lowest levels in years, particularly among Bolsonaro supporters. In April, a congressional committee recommended the formal indictment of three justices — Alexandre de Moraes, Dias Toffoli and Mendes — and called for impeachment proceedings over alleged misconduct in their handling of the collapse of Banco Master. Moraes and Toffoli were further accused of conflicts of interest: Moraes' wife signed a multimillion-dollar contract with the bank, while Toffoli was a partner in a company that sold a stake in a resort in the southern state of Paraná to funds linked to Banco Master.
AtlasIntel
Datafolha
Quaest
Brasil de Fato
The Economist
The Rio Times
O Globo
Bolsonaro Coup Trial: In 2025, a five-judge panel of Brazil's Supreme Court convicted Bolsonaro and 28 of his allies on coup-related charges stemming from his 2022 election defeat. The case involved plans to declare a state of emergency and arrest Supreme Court justices, an alleged plot to kill Lula, Geraldo Alckmin and Justice Alexandre de Moraes, and the Jan. 8, 2023, Brasília riots. Sentences ranged from under two years to Bolsonaro's 27 years and three months, while two defendants were acquitted. Separately, over 800 Jan. 8 rioters have been convicted and more than 500 reached non-prosecution deals.
BBC News
Breitbart
Supremo Tribunal Federal
The Gateway Pundit
The Guardian
Time
Agência Brasil
Fake News Inquiry: Launched in 2019 and still open under seal, the Fake News Inquiry has fueled polarization around the STF. Then-Chief Justice Toffoli opened it over alleged online threats and assigned Moraes as rapporteur without random distribution. Then-Attorney General Raquel Dodge challenged it on due-process and separation-of-powers grounds, but the Court upheld it 10-1 in 2020. Critics accuse the Court of using the inquiry to censor and target opponents, while supporters say it remains necessary to address threats against the Court.
The Economist
Gazeta do Povo
JOTA Info
Poder360
Supremo Tribunal Federal
Valor International
Glenn Greenwald on X
Sam Pancher on X
Impeachment: The Brazilian Senate has at least 100 pending impeachment requests against Supreme Court justices, though no justice has ever been impeached. The Constitution gives the Senate authority to try justices for "crimes of responsibility," which are defined by a 1950 statute. A request for the impeachment of Moraes gained the support of 41 of 81 senators in August 2025, but Senate President Davi Alcolumbre never put it to a vote. Later that year, Mendes issued an injunction requiring a two-thirds majority to admit such requests — the same threshold needed for impeachment.
Supremo Tribunal Federal
The Rio Times
Brasil 247
Revista Oeste
Metrópoles
Senado Federal
Senado Federal
Senado Federal

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

A court that investigates itself, prosecutes itself and judges itself is no longer a check on power but an authority unto itself. Secretive inquiries with no defined targets, prolonged detentions, content-removal orders and justices entangled in the very financial scandals they're meant to oversee demonstrates the court's endemic corruption. An institution immune to scrutiny, answerable to no electorate and increasingly indistinguishable from the threats it claims to fight, is an existential threat to democracy.

Bloomberg

JOTA Info

O Globo

The Wall Street Journal

Narrative B

An assertive court isn't inherently a threat to democracy, as it depends on what that assertiveness is used for. In Brazil, it has protected democratic institutions. Through judicial review, targeted investigations and rulings, Brazil's top court has pushed back against executive aggrandizement, curbed disinformation campaigns and put those who conspired to overturn a presidential election behind bars. Those who seek to weaken the court ultimately seek to weaken democratic institutions and the rule of law.