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How an Increasingly Politicized Supreme Court Threatens Brazil’s Democracy

How an Increasingly Politicized Supreme Court Threatens Brazil’s Democracy
Supporters of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro carry a national flag as they head to the National Congress building in Brasilia, Brazil, on May 1, 2022. Evaristo Sa/AFP via Getty Images
Augusto Zimmermann
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Commentary

When the then head of the top electoral court in Brazil, Supreme Court Justice José Dias Toffoli, officially declared Jair Bolsonaro the winner of the 2018 presidential elections, he made this unusual pronouncement: “The future president must respect institutions, must respect democracy, the rule of law, the judiciary branch, the National Congress, and the legislative branch.” Those remarks were taken to be a rebuke of the new president’s conservative views.

Augusto Zimmermann
Augusto Zimmermann
Ph.D.
Augusto Zimmermann, PhD, LLD, is a professor and head of law at Sheridan Institute of Higher Education in Perth. He is also president of the Western Australian Legal Theory Association and served as a commissioner with the Law Reform Commission of Western Australia from 2012 to 2017. Mr. Zimmermann has authored numerous books, including “Western Legal Theory: History, Concepts and Perspectives" and “Foundations of the Australian Legal System: History, Theory, and Practice.”
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