Before the presidential election in Brazil, the Supreme Court is torn apart in an unprecedented crisis
The President of the Supreme Court of Brazil tried on Wednesday September 9 to contain an unprecedented crisis within the highest court, which is being torn apart less than a month before the presidential election. Triggered by an investigation into a huge bank fraud, this crisis hits the electoral campaign in the largest country in Latin America.
On October 4, left-wing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, 80, will attempt to be re-elected against Flavio Bolsonaro, 45, eldest son of former far-right head of state Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022).
The crisis erupted last week, when a police report revealed the content of messages sent by banker Daniel Vorcaro, suspected of one of the biggest financial frauds in the country’s history, to a number attributed to Alexandre de Moraes, an influential Supreme Court judge. In these messages dating from November 2025, the boss of Banco Master asks the magistrate for help with the apparent aim of slowing down the investigation which will lead to his arrest shortly after. Daniel Vorcaro had built up a vast network in power circles before his establishment was liquidated for having proved insolvent, having accumulated more than six billion euros in debt.
The fate of the director of the Federal Police at the heart of the crisis
Judge Moraes last year led the historic trial of ex-President Bolsonaro, who is serving a 27-year prison sentence at home for attempted coup d’état.
Also readWith De la Espriella, the “hard rights” in Latin America record a new victory
The banker’s messages were disclosed on the orders of judge André Mendonça, in charge of the Banco Master investigation. Former Minister of Justice of Jair Bolsonaro, he was appointed by him to the Supreme Court.
The crisis escalated this week around the fate of the director of the Federal Police (PF), Andrei Rodrigues. Denouncing intelligence reports used by his rival who accused him of an “abuse of authority”, judge Mendonça accused the PF of illegal espionage and ordered on Tuesday the provisional suspension of his leader.
On Wednesday, Flavio Dino, himself a former Minister of Justice under Lula and considered close to Judge Moraes, reinstated Andrei Rodrigues in his functions.
Lula and Flavio Bolsonaro neck and neck
A few hours later, the President of the Supreme Court, Edson Fachin, suspended these contradictory decisions, in a ruling to which AFP had access. He reserved the final decision concerning the boss of the PF, ordered to provide information within 48 hours. Judge Fachin also declared the “suspension of all investigative procedures” targeting members of the Court. And called a plenary meeting for September 15.
Polls give Lula and Flavio Bolsonaro neck and neck in the hypothesis of a second round on October 25.
Also readBolsonaro sentenced in Brazil: a “historic” verdict which marks the time of succession to the right
On the social network He denounced the “selective leaks which influence the electoral dispute”.
The Master affair is a “toxic” case
During a campaign trip to Juiz de Fora (southeast), Bolsonaro’s son accused Judge Dino of trying to “interfere in a legal proceeding”. “I want to win the elections at the ballot box, and Lula wants to win on the green carpet,” he said.
Flavio Bolsonaro is himself weakened by the Master affair. The police are investigating transfers of several million dollars that he had requested from Daniel Vorcaro. According to the conservative candidate, these funds were used to finance a film about his father.
The Master affair is a “toxic” case, a Supreme Court source commented to AFP, because the police presume that the banker “put money in several places to then be able to obtain favors”.
Around 3,000 employers’ organizations in the country published a statement on Wednesday in which they warned of an “institutional crisis of extreme seriousness” whose “epicenter” is the highest court. “If the legitimacy (of judges) is called into question, everything else becomes uncertain,” including “social peace,” the signatories warned.
With AFP
