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Barroso Announces Early Retirement From Brazil’s Supreme Court, Creating Vacancy for Lula

Lula now faces a consequential Supreme Court pick requiring Senate confirmation.

Overview

  • Justice Luís Roberto Barroso, 67, told a plenary session this was his final sitting, called the decision long‑matured and unrelated to current politics, and said he will remain briefly to clear pending cases.
  • Barroso said he notified President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva about his intention roughly two years ago.
  • By law, the president nominates a successor who must pass a Senate process that includes a Constitution and Justice Committee hearing and a secret-ballot vote in the full chamber requiring an absolute majority.
  • Names being circulated as potential nominees include Jorge Messias, Rodrigo Pacheco, Bruno Dantas, Vinícius Carvalho and, in some reports, Maria Elizabeth Rocha, though these remain speculative.
  • Reporting says Edson Fachin, Cármen Lúcia and Alexandre de Moraes urged Barroso to delay his exit, as political jockeying intensifies with Senate powerbrokers positioned to influence the confirmation.