Brasilia (BLAZETRENDS).- The Brazilian Senate approved the candidacy of lawyer Cristiano Zanin to occupy a position on the Supreme Court, amid criticism for his close relationship with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, whom he defended in court in cases for corruption today filed.
The plenary session of the Upper House supported, by a large majority of 58 votes in favor and 18 against, the name of Zanin, proposed by Lula himself by constitutional imperative to be one of the eleven magistrates of the country’s highest judicial instance.
Zanin, 47 years old and specialized in business and criminal litigation, will be able to serve as a Supreme Court judge for almost thirty years, until he turns 75.
The senators, including several allies of the far-right Jair Bolsonaro who voted in favor, were convinced by his guarantee profile, his commitment to the Constitution and his commitment to strengthening harmony between the powers.
Before the deliberation in plenary, Zanin appeared for eight hours in the Constitution and Justice Commission of the Senate. He also declared him fit in a comfortable way (21-5).
“I am not going to change sides, it was always the same, that of the Constitution, the guarantees and the broad right of defense in due legal process. The other is barbarism and abuse of power, ”he explained in his speech.
Cristiano Zanin, lawyer and friend of Lula
Zanin gained national and international notoriety since he defended Lula in multiple corruption processes related to Operation Lava Jato, which also investigated a large number of parliamentarians.
In 2021, a “habeas corpus” of his authorship caused the Supreme Court to annul the sentences imposed on the progressive leader. That ruling, key in Brazil’s recent history, allowed him to run in the 2022 elections, in which he defeated Bolsonaro.
His long and close coexistence with the current head of state was one of the objections raised by opposition senators.
To dispel any suspicion, Zanin guaranteed that he will act with “independence” and “impartiality”, as he has done, as he stressed, in his almost 25-year career as a lawyer, the majority in the private sector.
But “I will never deny my relationship with Lula, on the contrary, I am grateful to the president for having proposed my name to the Supreme Court,” he said when answering a question from Senator Sérgio Moro, who in his time as judge convicted and imprisoned Lula.
The face to face between Zanin and Moro was one of the most anticipated moments of the session, after both faced each other in court during the Lava Jato processes.
Lula’s lawyer, in fact, did not miss the opportunity to recall that his former client “was acquitted in various instances.” Due to “a structural failure” of powers and “the absence of an impartial judge”, alluding to Moro.
Moro later warned in plenary session that “someone so close to the president” is “a risk to the independence of the Supreme Court.”
Drugs, abortion and indigenous
Even so, the interrogation in the Senate commission proceeded in a respectful climate to the point of Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, son of the far-right leader, praising his guarantee profile.
Zanin was also questioned several times on issues that polarize the country. Like the right to abortion, the fight against drugs, homosexual marriage or the recognition of new indigenous lands. Though he tiptoed through all of them.
He indicated that drugs are “an evil that needs to be fought.” Although at the same time he supported legislative initiatives that seek to reduce the alarming number of prisoners for possession of small amounts of illegal substances.
He also praised the right to life, but stressed that there is a “consolidated” regulation for the voluntary interruption of pregnancy.
“The Supreme Court does not have the role of legislating,” he asserted.
He also indicated that he “will make every effort to reconcile, in the best possible way” the conflicts between the demands to expand indigenous lands and the interests of private owners.
Zanin postulated by Lula to occupy the position of the retired Ricardo Lewandowski. The president will still have to choose a second candidate for the Supreme Court this year to replace Rosa Weber. He will also leave the court when he turns 75.
By then only one woman will remain among the eleven magistrates of the court.