The Judge Who Is Resisting Brazil’s Lava Jato
As Brazilians fight against corruption and cronyism, one Supreme Court judge insists on doing things the old-fashioned way.
Edilson Rodrigues/Agência Senado
Brazil has a long tradition of politicized courts. But even in that context, Brazilian Supreme Court Judge Gilmar Mendes is unique, as he is both as an extreme manifestation of this tendency and a revealing case study in what this tendency means for the judicial system and the country.
Consider: the senior 61-year-old judge counts the country’s most powerful politicians, including the president, among his close friends. His close and regular contact with them continued even as some of them faced serious allegation of corruption – and even though, as a member of the Supreme Court, cases involving them could fall under Mendes’ jurisdiction. He negotiates with politicians, promises and delivers support, receives them as guests at home and attends their dinners – in presidential receptions, for example, the judge is an habitué.
As the most controversial member of the 11 judges of the Brazilian high court, he has drawn the wrath of the country’s corruption fighters and is poorly regarded by 84 percent of Brazilians. Three years into the wide-ranging Lava Jato corruption investigation, which has landed some of the country’s top political and business leaders in prison, the judge’s decisions are under daily scrutiny. His rulings and statements make headlines regularly. This is particularly true of key decisions related to corruption and to Lava Jato – an investigation that has broken new ground in Brazil, where the powerful have seldom been made to pay for their crimes, said Silvana Batini, a professor of constitutional law at FGV in Rio de Janeiro.
"Lava Jato is a big step for Brazil,” said Batini. “This is a place we haven’t been before. It's a test for all institutions, especially the Supreme Court.”
The pressure has done little to change Mendes, who has continued to rule in cases involving his
http://www.americasquarterly.org/content/judge-taking-brazils-lava-jato
“friend of decades,” President Michel Temer, and other pals – whatever the cost to Brazil.
This friend is a keeper
Consider: the senior 61-year-old judge counts the country’s most powerful politicians, including the president, among his close friends. His close and regular contact with them continued even as some of them faced serious allegation of corruption – and even though, as a member of the Supreme Court, cases involving them could fall under Mendes’ jurisdiction. He negotiates with politicians, promises and delivers support, receives them as guests at home and attends their dinners – in presidential receptions, for example, the judge is an habitué.
As the most controversial member of the 11 judges of the Brazilian high court, he has drawn the wrath of the country’s corruption fighters and is poorly regarded by 84 percent of Brazilians. Three years into the wide-ranging Lava Jato corruption investigation, which has landed some of the country’s top political and business leaders in prison, the judge’s decisions are under daily scrutiny. His rulings and statements make headlines regularly. This is particularly true of key decisions related to corruption and to Lava Jato – an investigation that has broken new ground in Brazil, where the powerful have seldom been made to pay for their crimes, said Silvana Batini, a professor of constitutional law at FGV in Rio de Janeiro.
"Lava Jato is a big step for Brazil,” said Batini. “This is a place we haven’t been before. It's a test for all institutions, especially the Supreme Court.”
The pressure has done little to change Mendes, who has continued to rule in cases involving his
http://www.americasquarterly.org/content/judge-taking-brazils-lava-jato
“friend of decades,” President Michel Temer, and other pals – whatever the cost to Brazil.
This friend is a keeper
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