Justice Mendes seeks closer ties with Army commander
Federal Supreme Court Justice Gilmar Mendes met last Wednesday with the Army commander, general Edson Leal Pujol, at the Army HQ in Brasília. Mr. Pujol was accompanied by his chief of staff, general Fábio Benvenutti Castro, in what the Army described as a "courtesy visit." Mr. Mendes gifted the 15th edition of his book, "Constitutional Law Course (Editora do Direito, 2020), and was later left alone with the Army commander.Mr. Mendes sought the meeting. He wanted to keep President Jair Bolsonaro's claims about how Brazilians institutions are acting during the pandemic from taking hold in the Army. Defense Minister Fernando Azevedo e Silva, who always sought to bridge the gap, saw his standing erode both with the Federal Supreme Court (STF) and the Armed Forces. The erosion intensified since the president joined a demonstration in front of the HQ on Army Day.
More recently, notes issued by Mr. Azevedo e Silva about STF actions in the probe into allegations made by former Justice minister Sergio Moro and about the interpretation of article 142 of the Constitution, which lays down the role of the Armed Forces in domestic law and order, also raised concern.
Justice Mendes declined to comment on the meeting. Still, people familiar with the matter say the first perception he tried to undo was that institutions wouldn't let the president govern the country, which is being spread not only by the Planalto Palace's primary occupant but also his VP, Hamilton Mourão, the powerful Institutional Security Office Minister Augusto Heleno Ribeiro and more recently by Secretariat of Government Minister Luiz Eduardo Ramos.
This perception gained ground since the STF ruled that states and cities have the power to impose measures to fight the pandemic, as they resisted against easing social distancing as Mr. Bolsonaro would like. Mr. Mendes explained that the three levels of government have managed the Unified Health System (SUS, Brazil's public health system) since its inception. In order to respect the procedure, the president should have convened a federative committee with states and cities.
Mr. Mendes also sought to dispel the very popular perception among Bolsonarists that there is a "conspiracy" headed by another Supreme justice, Alexandre de Moraes, São Paulo Governor João Doria (Brazilian Social Democracy Party, PSDB) and by Chamber of Deputies Speaker Rodrigo Maia (Democrats, DEM of Rio de Janeiro) to overthrow the president.
Mr. Pujol was reminded of a...
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