Folha: Cármen Lúcia Faults Both Sides as Court Crisis Widens
Brazil · JUSTICE
Key Facts
- —What happened Folha de S.Paulo reported on 6 September 2026 that Justice Cármen Lúcia sees errors by both Alexandre de Moraes and.
- —Who it hits A police delegates’ group asked Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet to step aside from a related case, on 5 September 2026.
- —The catch Nobody named here has been found guilty of anything.
- —Also reported A spy-agency staff union and a fellow justice have separately raised concerns this week, detailed below.
- —What comes next Court President Edson Fachin set deadlines that push a ruling in the dispute past 22 September 2026, Poder360 reported.
A senior justice is said to see mistakes on both sides of a Supreme Court feud. Police, a spy-agency union and a colleague are pushing back too, separate reports say.
Brazil’s Supreme Court is facing a rare public rift among its own justices. A newspaper report says Justice Cármen Lúcia now sees mistakes on both sides of a feud between two colleagues.
Cármen Lúcia’s Reported Shift
Cármen Lúcia sits on Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court, known by its Portuguese initials STF. She has served on the court since 2006, and once led it as president.
On 6 September 2026, Folha de S.Paulo reported that Cármen Lúcia now sees errors in both colleagues’ conduct. Those colleagues are Justice Alexandre de Moraes and Justice André Mendonça.
Folha attributed this to unnamed people close to her, not to any public statement. That marks a shift from three days earlier.
On 3 September 2026, the news site Metrópoles had reported, also citing unnamed sources, a different picture. It said Cármen Lúcia privately told Moraes she disagreed with the criticism he faced.
Neither report quotes Cármen Lúcia directly. The Rio Times could not independently confirm her position.
The Dispute Behind the Crisis
The rift centers on Daniel Vorcaro, a banker whose Banco Master was shut down by regulators last year. Federal Police examined his confiscated phone.
Investigators reported finding contact with a person the document links to Moraes. Police delivered a 218-page report on this to Mendonça’s office on Thursday, 27 August 2026, Poder360 reported.
Mendonça is the justice assigned to a related case. On 1 September 2026, he lifted secrecy on the matter.
He made public 52 messages the report says Vorcaro sent to the contact tied to Moraes, G1 reported that day. Mendonça asked that the dispute go before the full court, calling that path “inevitable,” CNN Brasil reported.
Moraes has not been charged with any crime. The police report itself does not conclude he acted improperly, O Antagonista’s review of the document found on 4 September 2026.
Banco Master’s Collapse
Banco Master was a mid-sized lender that ran into serious money trouble last year. Brazil’s Central Bank shut it down on 18 November 2025, and Federal Police arrested Vorcaro the same day.
Vorcaro has not been convicted of any crime tied to the bank’s collapse. That arrest, and the phone seized with it, are what put him at the center of this week’s crisis.
Police Group Wants Prosecutor-General to Step Aside
Federal Police delegates are pressing for change too. The National Association of Federal Police Delegates, known as ADPF, made a demand on 5 September 2026.
It asked Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet to declare himself unable to handle the case. Gonet leads Brazil’s federal prosecution service, a role separate from the Supreme Court.
The delegates argued he should step aside for one reason. The police report itself names him, Jovem Pan and Tribuna do Sertão reported that day.
Gonet has not said whether he will comply. No wrongdoing by him has been established.
Spy-Agency Union Criticizes the Report
Brazil also runs an intelligence service called Abin, separate from the police. Intelis, a union representing Abin intelligence staff, criticized the police report Moraes has cited against Mendonça.
Metrópoles reported this on 5 September 2026. Intelis said the document does not follow Brazil’s standards for intelligence work, and should not be treated as evidence.
Separately, O Globo reported on 5 September 2026 on the document’s own structure. It sorts claims into three tiers: “documented,” “reported” and “evaluated.”
The document itself states it carries “no evidentiary value,” O Globo reported. It also speculates, with what it calls low confidence, about Senate President Davi Alcolumbre.
The speculation ties him to a dispute over future court appointments, that report said. O Antagonista reported on 4 September 2026 that the document is internally labelled a “scenario analysis.”
It carries no official letterhead and no delegate’s signature, that outlet found.
A Colleague Proposes Limits on Police in Chambers
Justice Gilmar Mendes has floated a rule change of his own. On 5 September 2026, he formally filed a proposal with Fachin, Tribuna do Sertão and CartaCapital reported.
It would bar police and military officers from holding staff posts in justices’ chambers. The plan would still allow such officers to handle security, if the office notifies the court’s administration.
It would bar them from joining investigations or giving legal advice, the outlets reported. Four Federal Police delegates currently work inside STF chambers, Tribuna do Sertão reported on 5 September 2026.
Two are in Moraes’s office and two are in Mendonça’s, that report said. The court has not yet voted on Mendes’s proposal.
The Backdrop: A Separate Inquiry
Moraes also leads a different, long-running STF inquiry into online attacks on the court, opened in 2019. Supporters call it a necessary shield for Brazilian democracy.
Critics, including some in Congress, call it too much power for one justice. That older debate forms the backdrop to this week’s crisis, though it is a separate matter from the Vorcaro messages.
What Happens Next
Fachin, the court’s president, set response deadlines in the dispute this week. Those deadlines push any full-court ruling past 22 September 2026, Poder360 reported on 5 September 2026.
That date falls close to the first round of Brazil’s general election. Voting is set for 4 October 2026.
Separately, Brasil de Fato and Revista Fórum reported that Fachin is expected to act. They said he may send the underlying feud to the full 11-member court for open debate.
No date for such a session has been confirmed. Brazil’s Supreme Court has 11 justices, appointed for life, who rule on constitutional matters.
Cármen Lúcia is one of the court’s more senior members, and Folha described her as newly central to the dispute. That description, again, rests on unnamed sources rather than her own words.
Whatever the court eventually decides, nothing reported here amounts to a proven finding against any justice.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the STF?
The STF is Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court, the highest court in the country. It has 11 justices who rule on constitutional matters.
Why is Cármen Lúcia’s position important?
She is a senior justice and her criticism of both sides could shift the court’s balance. It makes her a central figure in the crisis.
What is the fake-news inquiry?
It is an investigation opened by the STF in 2019 to look into attacks on the court. Justice Moraes has used it to target online critics.
Why is a justice investigating a justice unusual?
Normally, justices recuse themselves from cases involving their own interests. Here, Moraes is both a party and a potential investigator.
Connected Coverage
Sources: Folha de S.Paulo; Metrópoles; Poder360; G1; CNN Brasil; Jovem Pan; Tribuna do Sertão; O Globo; O Antagonista; CartaCapital; Brasil de Fato; Revista Fórum.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error
Read More from The Rio Times