Brazil senate votes in Lula's justice minister to high court

BRASÍLIA — Brazil's senate on Thursday approved the appointment of Justice Minister Flavio Dino, a strong ally of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, to a seat on the supreme court, which is often at loggerheads with the legislative branch.

Dino's nomination sailed through the Senate on a 47-31 vote, after more than 10 hours of testimony before a committee overseeing the appointment.

"I am not a personal enemy of anyone. I ate lunch with [former president Jair] Bolsonaro [and] had several meetings with him. Whoever arrives there [at the court] will receive the treatment outlined by the law," Dino said, rejecting charges he may be biased against Bolsonaro.

The 55-year-old former judge and federal governor will fill a vacancy on the 11-seat supreme court left by retired justice Rosa Weber, who stepped down in September.

Dino's ascension to the court was not assured given resistance from allies of Bolsonaro, the far-right leader who left office at the end of 2022.

Bolsonaro’s camp resents Dino’s leading role in the administration’s response to the riots that rocked Brasilia on January 8, when thousands of the former president’s supporters invaded the presidential palace, Congress and supreme court buildings.

The rioters were calling for a military intervention to oust Lula, a week after he took office following a polarising election win over Bolsonaro in October 2022. More than 1,000 were arrested, with the first defendant sentenced to a heavy 17-year prison term in September.

With Dino, the high court now has only one woman among its 11 members and not a single Afro-Brazilian even though they comprise 56 per cent of the population.