BRASILIA
Thousands of Brazilians rallied in Sao Paulo on Monday to boost right-wing presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro, just weeks before the country’s October 4 election. But the presidential hopeful may not have been the most consequential figure there.
Towering over the crowds was a giant balloon depicting Supreme Court Justice Andre Mendonca, a once low-profile judge who was not attending. Yet the justice has become a hero to many on the Brazilian right and is increasingly flexing his muscles through rulings that could upend President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s campaign.
“I would also like us to pray the Lord’s Prayer for the life of Andre Mendonca — our courageous, bold justice,” said the rally’s emcee, on top of its main sound truck.
On Tuesday, Mendonca, the Supreme Court’s only openly evangelical member, gave supporters fresh reason for optimism when he suspended Lula’s federal police chief for circulating an intelligence report containing unproven allegations against the justice. His move is deepening a crisis that has become a growing headache for the president in an increasingly tight race.
The move was the latest flashpoint in a broader struggle over the direction of Brazil’s Supreme Court, where Mendonca, who was appointed by former right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, has become a leading voice of an emerging conservative bloc whose rulings frequently clash with the Lula administration. The stakes are high: The next president could appoint at least three justices to the 11-member court, potentially reshaping its ideological balance for years.
Interviews with four officials in the Supreme Court, Federal Police, and prosecutor general’s office who are critical of Mendonca revealed growing concern that his decisions are part of an effort to unseat Lula and steer the court toward positions more in tune with Brazil’s increasingly influential conservative movement.
Two of Mendonca’s allies, who asked not to be named because they were not allowed to speak publicly, they reject that characterization, describing him as an independent justice.
