Lula says he wants a “qualified” person to fill the STF, not a friend

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said this Monday that he wants to nominate a “qualified” person for the vacancy on the Federal Supreme Court (STF) opened with the early retirement of minister Luís Roberto Barroso, and denied intending to place “a friend” on the court.

At a press conference in Rome, where he met with Pope Leo the 14th and participated in events at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Lula said he does not yet know whether he will nominate a man or a woman for the position, and said he will make a decision after talking to people upon returning to Brazil.

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“I want a person — I don’t know if it’s a woman or a man, I don’t know if it’s black or white — who is qualified to be a Supreme Court minister. I don’t want a friend, I want a Supreme Court minister who will have the specific task of complying with the Brazilian Constitution,” said Lula.

“When I arrive in Brazil I will talk to a lot of people in my government and I will make a decision and announce who I will send to be questioned by the Senate”, he stated.

The person to be nominated by Lula to replace Barroso will have to go through a hearing at the Constitution and Justice Commission (CCJ) of the Senate and have the name approved by the collegiate and later by the plenary of the House.

It will be Lula’s third appointment to the STF in his third term as President, after he appointed ministers Flávio Dino, who served as Minister of Justice during his administration, and Cristiano Zanin, who was Lula’s personal lawyer and defended him in the processes related to the Lava Jato operation.