MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazilian Supreme Court emerges with a decisive role in the institutional crisis

“The goal of the falsity is clear: to prevent the carrying out of an arrest order,” against Lula that is under consideration by a lower court, wrote Gilmar Mendes

The Brazilian government's efforts to have former president Lula da Silva into the cabinet of president Dilma Rousseff will have to wait until next 30 March when the Supreme Court is scheduled to hold its next full meeting. The political upheaval and simultaneous legal back-and forth has reached such a pitch that it inspired a bleakly funny website, lulaeministro.com, or “Is Lula a minister?” The site shows only the former president’s face and the words, “At this moment, No.” (Or yes, depending).

 Last Friday a supreme court justice ruled that Lula could not take up the post as Rousseff’s chief of staff (to which he was sworn in on Thursday), because, he said, the appointment had been made in a clear attempt to help the former president dodge a criminal procedure. Under Brazilian law, cabinet ministers can be prosecuted only before the Supreme Federal Tribunal, an extremely slow and complex process.

“The goal of the falsity is clear: to prevent the carrying out of an arrest order,” against Lula that is under consideration by a lower court, Justice Gilmar Mendes wrote in his ruling. “It would be possible to conclude that the appointment and subsequent swearing-in, in the circumstances described, could constitute fraud of the constitution.”

He then sent the case back down to a federal court, effectively lifting the shield of protection on Lula who is under investigation in the Lava Jato graft scandal. He denies all wrongdoing and said he is joining cabinet only in an effort to help president Rousseff lead the country out of its political and economic crisis and counter the opposition efforts to impeach the president.

But on Saturday, the government asked the court to take the unusual step of superseding Justice Mendes’s decision, by suspending it, and all other court decisions trying to block Lula da Silva becoming a minister, until the entire supreme court can sit to consider that matter.

Justice Mendes had already criticized the idea that Lula might join cabinet, in a statement, before the appointment was made and before he was given the case to rule on. Because the Easter holiday falls this week, the court’s next full meeting is scheduled until March 30.

In the Friday decision, Justice Mendes ruled that Lula da Silva’s case should be returned to the federal court of Judge Sergio Moro, who has spearheaded the Lava Jato investigation and who last week permitted the release of hours of Lula’s taped phone calls, including some with president Rousseff.

On Sunday, Lula’s personal lawyers filed a separate habeas corpus petition to keep a criminal investigation of him, for money-laundering and misrepresentation of assets in connection with Lava Jato, at the supreme court level. The former president has denied any wrongdoing.

The supreme court ruling came after Lula da Silva’s cabinet status shifted at least four times since his swearing-in on Friday, with judges granting temporary injunctions and higher courts overturning them at a pace that seemed frenzied. There are at least 50 injunctions before courts now.

But as this scandal expands continuously to engulf politicians and parties across the spectrum, a poll showed the degree of Brazilians’ total frustration with the establishment. Should Rousseff be impeached, she would theoretically be replaced by Vice-President Michel Temer – but only 16% of those surveyed said they thought he would lead a good or great government; less than a third said he would be any better than Rousseff. But 35% say Lula da Silva was the best president Brazil ever had, more than twice the rating of the next-closest candidate.