The Federal Supreme Court (STF) formed a majority against constitutional interpretations that attribute “moderating power” to the Armed Forces, or that provide for military intervention. This Monday (1/4), minister Gilmar Mendes voted, marking the score 6-0.
So far, rapporteur Luiz Fux and ministers Gilmar Mendes, André Mendonça, Edson Fachin, Flávio Dino and Luís Roberto Barroso have voted. The trial, which takes place in a virtual plenary session, evaluates a direct action of unconstitutionality (ADI) filed by the PDT in 2020.
The action brought by the acronym demands that the Court debate interpretations of article 142 of the Federal Constitution that would delegate a type of “moderating power” to the Armed Forces.
Gilmar Mendes said he is perplexed that the STF is obliged, in the current historical period, to “have to reject certain claims that would be considered absurd in the vast majority of constitutional democracies on the planet”. The minister highlighted that the Constitution does not allow “forceful solutions”.
The minister also highlighted that coup speeches “did not emerge or intensify in a vacuum” and “constitute an unfolding of a recent phenomenon of resumption, by the highest military leadership, of considerable political protagonism — a process that goes against constitutional norms and that One of its main ideological objectives is to make the unreasonable interpretation of art prevail. 142 of the Constitution reissued in recent years and contested in these records”.
“The hermeneutics of the bayonet does not fit into the Constitution. Brazilian society has nothing to gain from the politicization of the barracks, nor does the 1988 Constitution admit it”, pointed out Gilmar Mendes.
Like Flávio Dino, Gilmar followed the rapporteur’s understanding, but added that it is determined that the full ruling handed down by the STF must be sent to the Minister of Defense, so that due disclosure can be made to all military organizations.
