12/10/2024 – 9:18
The president of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Luís Roberto Barroso, spoke this Saturday morning, the 12th, at the II International Forum, an event promoted by the Esfera Brasil group in Rome, Italy. In his talk, which opened the second day of the event, the minister proposed to “talk about Brazil, the world, and the future of humanity”. Barroso also once again defended the work of the STF and the presence of Court ministers at business events, in addition to saying that the country is experiencing a moment of “great harmony between the Powers”.
When dealing with Brazil’s situation and its potential as an area of interest for international investments, Barroso mentioned that there is a concern about the country’s legal security, but that this perception “does not correspond to reality”. According to the minister, the idea that there is “a high level of judicial activism” in Brazil is a myth, but he assesses that there is, indeed, “a relatively high degree of judicial protagonism, in the sense that almost all major Brazilian issues at some point they flow into either the Judiciary or the Federal Supreme Court”.
This protagonism, in Barroso’s view, is due to the fact that the Federal Constitution is “very comprehensive”, the ease of calling the STF for different situations, the Court’s criminal competence and its degree of visibility. “Everything reaches, at some point, the Federal Supreme Court, so we are always displeasing someone”, stated the minister, and added that, because of this, “the prestige and importance of a court cannot be measured by the public opinion”.
The president of the STF, however, stated that he considers that there is excessive litigation in three areas: tax, health and labor. Barroso mentioned the Court’s strategies to reduce the number of lawsuits judged on these issues and, when talking about measures to reduce complaints in the labor area, he was applauded by the audience, made up mainly of businesspeople.
Barroso also addressed criticisms about the presence of ministers at events like the current one and their meetings with the business class. He said that there is, in Brazil, a “prejudice against private initiative” and received applause. “We often suffer criticism for participating in events like this. I wanted to say that I talk to indigenous communities, I talk to lawyers, to agribusiness, to students, to all sectors of society”, said the president of the STF.
According to a survey by the Estadãowhich compiled all the public hearings of the president of the STF since he took office, on September 29, 2023, until July 4 this year, company representatives are the ones most attended by Barroso when disregarding meetings with members of three Powers.
The event promoted by the Esfera group is sponsored by a group of companies that includes JBS, owned by brothers Wesley and Joesley Batista. As shown by Estadãoministers Barroso and Dias Toffoli, who are present at the event, are rapporteurs for several actions of interest to the company.
“We are living in a moment of increased civility” says Barroso
The STF minister listed characteristics of Brazil that, for him, make it “one of the great investment options in the world”. In the list, he mentioned the country’s relevance in the environmental context and the fight against global warming, in addition to peace with neighboring countries and GDP growth statistics, reduced unemployment and a decrease in the “political temperature in the country”. “We live in a moment of rising civility,” he stated.
Mentioning the president of the Federal Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD), Barroso said that the country has institutional instability. “Contrary to the intrigues – I don’t know if Pacheco is here – that we hear here and there, we live in great harmony between the Powers”.
The minister’s speech takes place in the midst of a heated climate between the STF and the National Congress. Last Wednesday, the 8th, the Constitution and Justice Committee of the Chamber of Deputies approved a package of legislative measures that limit the powers of the STF. There were two constitutional amendment proposals (PECs) and two bills that restrict the powers of magistrates to make isolated decisions, authorize Parliament to annul Supreme Court judgments and create a new procedure for impeachment proceedings against Court ministers.
Barroso also mentioned challenges that Brazil must face, such as poverty, inequality, educational deficit, low economic growth and public security problems. He was applauded by the audience when he stated that “organized crime must be obsessively confronted in Brazil”.
He also pointed out problems of “patrimonialism, if not corruption, which is this poor division between public space and private space”. According to him, there is “an appropriation of public space by predatory elites”.
Finally, he highlighted international issues that deserve attention: the technological revolution, the growth of artificial intelligence and climate change.
This Saturday’s event is the second day of the II International Forum of the Esfera group, and was attended by Brazilian authorities from the Three Powers. The chosen location was Rome to celebrate 150 years of Italian immigration to Brazil.
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