Moraes Impeachment: The Senate Queue That Has Never Moved
BRAZIL · SENATE
Key Facts
- —The target Alexandre de Moraes, the Supreme Court justice who led Brazil’s prosecution of the 2023 coup attempt.
- —The instrument Any senator can file to have a justice removed. Removal needs 54 of 81 votes.
- —How many have been filed Depending on how you count, 55 since 2021, or at least 66 over the years.
- —Across the whole court The Senate president says 109 requests are pending against the ten sitting justices.
- —How many have reached a vote None. Not one has ever been ruled admissible.
- —Why Only the Senate president can let one through, and he has let none through.
Filing to remove a Brazilian Supreme Court justice costs a senator nothing. Getting one removed has never been done. Between those two facts sits a queue that never moves.
A new request to remove Justice Alexandre de Moraes was filed this month. It joined dozens already sitting in a drawer in the Brazilian Senate.
The Latest Filing
Senator Alessandro Vieira filed it on 5 September, with twenty senators signing.
It names Moraes and his wife, Viviane Barci de Moraes. It also names the banker Daniel Vorcaro, whose phone sits at the centre of the crisis.
The signatures cross party lines. Leila Barros, Jorge Kajuru, Flávio Arns, Hamilton Mourão, Damares Alves, Tereza Cristina and Esperidião Amin are among them.
So are Carlos Viana, Mara Gabrilli, Carlos Portinho, the former astronaut Marcos Pontes, Zequinha Marinho and Wilder Morais.
Counting the Queue
Several totals circulate in Brazilian coverage, and they measure different spans.
One tally counts 55 requests against Moraes since January 2021. Another finds at least 66 filed over the years.
That second count divides usefully. Eighteen have been archived or rejected, 21 are waiting to be dealt with, and 27 sit with the Senate’s own lawyers.
Senate President Davi Alcolumbre uses the broadest figure. There are 109 requests pending against the ten justices, he has said, and he called that abnormal.
Moraes carries by far the most. One breakdown gives him 55, against 15 for Gilmar Mendes, 12 for Dias Toffoli and 8 for Flávio Dino.
One Man Decides Whether Any of Them Live
Brazilian law hands the Senate president sole control of the first step. He alone decides whether a request is admissible.
Without that ruling there is no committee, no hearing and no floor vote. The request simply sits.
Alcolumbre has never issued one. Reports that he has hinted at pairing a case against Moraes with one against Justice André Mendonça carry no quote from him.
The effect is that filing has become a way of making a statement rather than starting a process. Senators know this when they sign.
The Headcount in the Newspapers
The daily Gazeta do Povo has been telephoning senators since 2 September and publishing a running tally.
By 13 September it had 40 in favour of removal, 4 against, 24 declining to give a position and 13 not answering.
Removal requires 54 votes out of 81. Forty is a long way short, and 37 senators have refused to say.
The paper also reported that three senators had switched to support. Two of them, Barros and Arns, had indeed signed the 5 September filing.
A newspaper ringing round is useful, and it is not the same thing as a vote. No vote has ever been called.
What Would Actually Have to Happen
First the Senate president would have to rule a request admissible, which has never occurred.
A committee would then examine it and report to the floor. Two-thirds of the chamber would have to agree.
No Brazilian Supreme Court justice has ever been removed this way. The power exists on paper and has never been completed in practice.
The nearest precedent is a justice resigning before the question was put, which is not the same thing at all.
Two Tracks, One Week
The Supreme Court votes on Tuesday on whether police may investigate Moraes. That is a judicial process and the Senate has no part in it.
The two tracks can run at the same time without touching. A police inquiry does not need senators, and an impeachment does not need judges.
What connects them is pressure. If the court authorises an inquiry, the question of admissibility lands on Alcolumbre’s desk with more weight than before.
He has given no timetable and no indication of what he intends to do.
More: Brazil news and analysis, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Alexandre de Moraes?
A Brazilian Supreme Court justice, best known for leading the prosecution of those behind the January 2023 attack on the capital.
How many impeachment requests target him?
Between 55 and 66, depending on the period counted.
Who filed the newest one?
Senator Alessandro Vieira, on 5 September 2026, with twenty signatures.
Can the Senate remove a justice?
In principle, by a two-thirds vote of 54 of 81 senators. It has never happened.
Why has nothing moved?
Only the Senate president can rule a request admissible, and Davi Alcolumbre has never done so.
Is this linked to the court case?
Only politically. The court vote on 15 September is a judicial matter that does not involve the Senate.
Sources: Senado Notícias, Poder360, Congresso em Foco, Estado de Minas, Gazeta do Povo, Metrópoles.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error
Read More from The Rio Times