By Camilo Diniz
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, of the leftist Workers' Party (PT), has not accepted the Senate's "no." Although the Senate rejected in April the nomination of Attorney General Jorge Messias to the Supreme Federal Court (STF), Brazil's highest court, Lula intends to insist on the same name for the vacant seat.
Lula bets on a stronger government
According to the assessment attributed to Lula, what is driving the new push is the political landscape. The president believes the result of the election and the strengthening of his government have created a situation more favorable than the one in April, when the Senate blocked the nomination.
In other words, the Planalto, as the presidential palace and by extension the Brazilian government is known, treats the defeat on the Senate floor as a passing setback that a new balance of forces can reverse, not as a political message to be respected.
Why it matters: the Senate's role
The rejection was no minor detail. In Brazil, it is up to the Senate to approve or reject nominees to the Supreme Court, and the chamber said no to the person the president had chosen. The attorney general (advogado-geral da União) heads the Advocacia-Geral da União, the body that represents the federal government in legal matters.
Coming back with the same attorney general is a show of strength. It also puts senators in the same uncomfortable position as before: stand by their April decision or yield to pressure from the government.
What happens next
The next step is to see whether Lula actually formalizes the nomination and how the Senate will react to a name it has already defeated. The Supreme Court seat remains one of the biggest tests of power between the executive and legislative branches.
Several points remain unclear. It is not specified when the new nomination would be made, or how the Planalto plans to rebuild the majority needed to approve it. There has also been no public reaction so far from senators to Lula's intention.
VDD Analysis
Insisting on a name the Senate has already rejected is the president's right, but it also reveals a view of power in which the will of the Planalto tends to prevail over constitutional checks. For those who favor balanced institutions, the Senate has not only the right but the duty to scrutinize rigorously who will occupy a lifetime seat on the Supreme Court, without bowing to the convenience calculations of the government of the day.
