The evangelical Supreme Court justice shaping Brazil’s election

BRASILIA/SAO PAULO, Sept 10 - 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, told Reuters they reject that characterization, describing him as an independent justice.

On Wednesday, that unease spilled into public view when Justice Flavio Dino, a Lula appointee, issued a separate ruling reinstating the federal police chief, likely forcing the full court to weigh in.

Without naming Mendonca, Dino cautioned in his ruling that judges should avoid actions "that could be used to fuel political advertising, rallies, campaign events, or other forms of partisan political instrumentalization."

Mendonca declined to be interviewed for this article, and did not reply to requests for comment.

‘SOMEONE YOU CAN TRUST’

At a modest Sao Paulo church on a rainy Saturday in late August, about 150 men listened to Mendonca deliver a sermon on the “Principles of an Upright Leader.”

“An upright leader is someone you can trust,” he said.

The judge, an assistant pastor at the church, then apologized for leaving early to head back to Brasilia.

He faced a consequential decision. Two days earlier, Mendonca had received a police report that he had ordered regarding his fellow Justice Alexandre de Moraes and his alleged role as an adviser to Daniel Vorcaro, the owner of a bank now at the center of a multibillion-dollar fraud investigation.

Moraes is loathed by many on the Brazilian right for pursuing Bolsonaro over a coup plot that led to the former president's conviction.

The report detailed messages, including a possible escape plan, that the banker had allegedly sent to Moraes. Moraes did not reply to a request for comment.

Mendonca then made the report public, prompting Moraes to seek an investigation into him for alleged abuse of authority, and thrusting the court into a major crisis.

Trying to contain the dispute, Chief Justice Edson Fachin has given both justices until Friday to respond to accusations.

‘TERRIBLY EVANGELICAL’

Mendonca had spent much of his career in the background, working in Brazil’s solicitor general’s office, where he coordinated leniency agreements tied to a sprawling corruption investigation that implicated hundreds of politicians, including Lula.

President Bolsonaro tapped Mendonca to lead the office in 2019, made him justice minister a year later, and then appointed him to the top court in 2021, fulfilling a pledge to nominate what he called a "terribly evangelical" justice.

Mendonca has previously avoided public clashes with colleagues. Though many of his fellow justices hosted events in Brasilia, he rarely attended them.

But he has worked to rally support among fellow justices, calling them to coordinate positions on rulings, one person close to Mendonca told Reuters. The extent of that backing became clear on Tuesday, when two colleagues swiftly endorsed his decision to suspend the police chief.

Still, he saw his work as impartial and said he expects criticism from both sides of the aisle, two people close to him said.

One of the people balked at the notion that he wants to help Lula rival Flavio Bolsonaro, noting that Mendonca ordered the opening of an investigation into the candidate over suspicions that resources provided by Vorcaro, the disgraced banker, financed a film about his father.

"Do you think opening an investigation into Flavio helps Flavio or helps Lula?" this person said.

Mendonca is also overseeing an investigation into Lula's son.

THE LAMB AND THE LION

At his church in Sao Paulo, attendees see Mendonca as someone who “seeks only the truth, regardless of whom it might hurt,” said Jeronimo Amaral, a 57-year-old lawyer who listened to the justice's sermon in late August.

As Mendonca spoke that day about fulfilling a divine purpose in life, he seemed to presage the upcoming political storm.

Recounting a conversation before his nomination to the court, Mendonca said then-President Bolsonaro questioned whether such a “calm guy” could “survive in such a difficult environment.”

Mendonca said he replied that there are moments to be a “lamb” and moments to be a “lion.”

Deciding what the moment calls for, he added, "takes wisdom." REUTERS