Sao Paulo, Mar 2 (EFE).- The Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, did not rule out this Thursday the possibility of nominating his personal lawyer, Cristiano Zanin Martins, who defended him in the corruption processes he faced in the past , to occupy a seat on the Supreme Court.
«If today I named Zanin, everyone would understand that he deserved to be nominated. He technically he grew extraordinarily. He is my friend, my partner, like I have other partners, but I never chose someone because of that,” said the president, in an interview with the BandNews radio station.
Lula, in power since January 1, will have to choose two new magistrates this year from the eleven that make up the highest judicial body in the country, because judges Ricardo Lewandowski and Rosa Weber will retire on their 75th birthday. age.
Zanin Martins defended the former trade unionist in the multiple corruption cases that were opened against him, the majority related to the extinct Operation Lava Jato and for which he received two sentences, which were later annulled by the Supreme Court.
Lula came to spend 580 days in prison. The annulment of his convictions, in 2021, allowed him to recover his political rights and run in last year’s presidential elections that he won against the then ruler, the far-right Jair Bolsonaro.
Justice has also been archiving in recent years all the investigations to which it was subjected, with Zanin Martins as a central figure in its defense.
In the interview, the head of state stressed that his candidates for the high court will have to have “notorious legal knowledge”, “character” and that they be “compliant with the Constitution”, and that before making their names public “he will consult the Many people”.
“I do not want to choose a judge for me, it is for the nation,” he said.
The names chosen by the leader of the Workers’ Party (PT) will go through an interview in the Constitution and Justice Commission of the Senate and will have to be approved by the plenary session of the Upper House, today dominated by conservative forces.
On the other hand, Lula declared that he “does not think” of following tradition and electing the next attorney general from the three candidates most voted for by the country’s attorneys.
Today the position is held by Augusto Aras, who was chosen by Bolsonaro and whose term will end next September.
The current Brazilian president declared that he “will think a lot” about it and that he will be guided by “personal criteria”, but promised to be “more careful in choosing the next Attorney General of the Republic.”
“I hope to choose a decent, dignified citizen, with a lot of character, and who is respected,” he said.