MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Pastor supported by Bolsonaro gets green light to join Brazil's STF

Despite his religious beliefs, Mendonça vowed to defend same sex marriage, because the law comes first

Evangelical Pastor André Mendonça has been given the green light by Brazil's Senate to become a new member of the country's Federal Supreme Court (STF) by 47 votes to 32 Thursday.

Mendonça, who has also served as Justice Minister under President Jair Bolsonaro, had been endorsed for the posy the head of state who has been leaning towards those religious groups over the past few days in a move to garner support for next year's reelection bid.

The new Justice os to replace Marcos Aurelio Mello, who retired last July so that once again the country's highest court will have 11 judges. He is the second-highest court judge appointed by Bolsonaro, after Kassio Nunes Marques in 2020.

The new magistrate assured legislators that he will adhere to the Constitution and not to his religious convictions, despite his status as a pastor and the fact that Bolsonaro had announced at the time that he would nominate someone “terribly evangelical” for office.

“In life, the Bible; in the STF, the Constitution,” Mendonça told the members of the Senate Constitution and Justice Committee, during the interview he was subjected to before the plenum session voted on his appointment.

“Although I am evangelical, there is no space for public religious demonstrations during the sessions of the STF,” Mendonça said, as he assured he would defend “the constitutional right to civil marriage of people of the same sex.”

Mendonça was Chief Attorney General of the Union since Bolsonaro took office and later left that position to become Justice Minister when former Lava Jato Judge Sergio Moro resigned in April 2020.

Mendonça has been a member of Bolsonaro's government since he came to power in January 2019, with the fundamental support of evangelicals, a sector on the rise in Brazil, where according to a Datafolha survey from January 2020 it already represents 31% of the population.

The Senatorial approval of Mendonça has been regarded by many as a victory for Bolsonaro on his road to reelection next year. It proved Bolsonaro, who had defended Mendonça's appointment Tuesday during his affiliation to the Liberal Party, still controls the majority in the Senate when he needs it.

Born in Santos (Sao Paulo), Mendonça is a lawyer specializing in anti-corruption issues. He is also a pastor of the Esperança Presbyterian Church in Brasilia