Brazil’s Supreme Court Jailed a Former President. Now It Faces Its Own Reckoning
Key Points
- Brazil’s Supreme Court convicted ex-President Bolsonaro to 27 years for the 2023 coup attempt—a verdict the left celebrates as justice and the right condemns as persecution. Now a R$41 billion ($7.5 billion) banking scandal implicates justices and government allies alike
- President Lula praised the court while largely ignoring allegations that justices and his own former ministers profited from the collapsed bank
- Bolsonaro-appointed judges will oversee this year’s presidential election for the first time, potentially reshaping the rules of political combat
In September 2025, Brazil’s Supreme Court sentenced former President Jair Bolsonaro to 27 years in prison for orchestrating the January 2023 assault on government buildings.
Supporters of President Lula hailed it as democracy defending itself. Bolsonaro’s base called it political persecution by an activist judiciary. The divide remains raw.
Five months later, that same judiciary faces a different kind of scrutiny. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stood before the Supreme Court on February 2, praising the justices who convicted his predecessor.
What he did not address was the scandal quietly consuming the court itself: the collapse of Banco Master, which may cost Brazil’s deposit insurance fund R$41 billion ($7.5 billion)—the largest payout in history.
Brazil Supreme Court Faces Credibility Test
The connections are uncomfortable. Justice Dias Toffoli, overseeing the fraud investigation, has brothers who held stakes in a resort partially owned by the bank owner’s brother-in-law.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes’ wife earns R$3.6 million ($670,000) monthly representing the bank. Lula himself met secretly with the bank’s owner weeks before its collapse.
His former finance minister collected R$1 million ($185,000) monthly as a consultant; his former justice minister’s firm received R$5 million ($925,000).
Left-wing voices insist Lula correctly focused on the ongoing threat from Bolsonaro’s movement. Right-wing critics see confirmation of what they have long alleged: a court that prosecutes enemies while protecting friends.
Chief Justice Edson Fachin seemed to acknowledge the problem, calling for judicial “self-correction” and announcing an ethics code—something the court has never had.
The stakes rise further because Bolsonaro-appointed justices will run October’s presidential election, promising “impartiality” after years of aggressive intervention against the right.
Whether one views the Bolsonaro verdict as justice or overreach, the question now is the same: will the court apply equal scrutiny to those in power? The answer will shape how Brazilians—and the world—judge the institution’s legitimacy.
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Related coverage: Brazil’s Morning Call | Why the World’s Superpowers Are Fighting a Secret War Inside This is part of The Rio Times’ daily coverage of Brazil politics and Latin American financial news.
This article was drafted with automated assistance and reviewed before publication. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
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