Brazil’s Supreme Court is in the throes of an unprecedented crisis RIO DE JANEIRO -- Brazil’s Supreme Court is in the throes of an unprecedented crisis. Sessions are being canceled. Justices are overruling one another’s decisions.
And suspicions of graft, political bias and police interference loom over several of its members ahead of the country's presidential election in October. The justices at the heart of the crisis are perceived as being at opposing ends of Brazil’s polarized political spectrum. Next month, incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is expected to face off with Sen.
Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, in what is likely to be a close election, as it was four years ago. The court is set to meet Tuesday to discuss whether one of the justices should be investigated for corruption. The chaos gripping the court stems from the collapse of Banco Master, a mid-sized bank worth up to $16 billion in assets, which was shut down last November after a sprawling investigation into a fraud scheme involving billions of reais.
Several top politicians and members of the judiciary were linked to it. Justice Andre Mendonca, an appointee of former president Jair Bolsonaro, was in charge of the case at the Supreme Court. Banco Master’s former head Daniel Vorcaro was arrested earlier this year.
Investigations show he had business dealings with several high-ranking politicians, including Sen. Additionally, Justice Alexandre de Moraes — a rival of Mendonca — provided legal advice to Vorcaro, and his wife had a 130 million reais ($23 million) contract to provide legal services to Banco Master, according to documents related to the ongoing investigation. Meanwhile, investigations into Flávio Bolsonaro's relationship with Vorcaro and the banker's $12 million in payments for a movie on his father's life have been much slower.
Bolsonaro has admitted receiving the payment but denied allegations of wrongdoing. Some members of Brazil's top court have openly accused Mendonca of selectively releasing parts of the sprawling Banco Master case and purposely slow-walking the release of parts of the investigation that relate to Sen. Bolsonaro to coincide with the upcoming elections.
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