Justice Toffoli says Brazil is experiencing semi-presidentialism with STF as moderating power

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – “We already have a semi-presidentialism with a moderating power control that is currently exercised by the Supreme Court. It is enough to look at this whole pandemic period,” the Justice said during his participation in the 9th Lisbon Legal Forum, in Portugal.

Toffoli stressed that “presiding over Brazil is not easy” and the debate on the issue is complex. The Justice stated that the Court, along with the National Congress, have taken action to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic in Brazil.

Former Federal Prosecutor General José Levi Mello also advocated the adoption of a semi-presidentialist political system in the country. “It is only natural that it should be like this. Why not formalize the parliamentarization of the model or its semi-parliamentarization, or a semi-presidentialism? Because [parliamentarization] is already practiced to some extent,” José Levi said during the Lisbon event.

In July, Chamber of Deputies president Arthur Lira argued that Congress should discuss changes to Brazil’s governance system to provide greater stability to the executive branch, with semi-presidentialism as a model.

On Monday, Lira discussed semi-presidentialism at the same event where Toffoli spoke yesterday. The Chamber president said he considers that the model “can be the institutional lever that we need so much at times of acute political crisis.”