Despite the intrigues that can be heard, “we live in great harmony between the Powers”, says Barroso

The president of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Luís Roberto Barroso, defended that the Brazilian Powers live “in great harmony”, as opposed to the “intrigues” that are heard.

“We have institutional stability. We have, contrary to the intrigues (…) that are heard here and there, we live in great harmony between the Powers”, he stated during the II International Sphere Forum in Rome, Italy, this Saturday (12).

“Harmony does not mean full agreement, harmony means that we are capable of eventually diverging, civilly, and converging on many things and, above all, treating each other well and loving each other well”, he added.

The minister also responded to criticism that there is a high degree of judicial activism in the country. “In Brazil there is a very low degree of judicial activism, although there is a relatively high degree of protagonism judicial. In the sense that almost all major Brazilian issues, at some point, come to an end or not,” he explained.

According to Barroso, one of the factors that lead to greater action by the Judiciary is the fact that the Constitution is “extremely comprehensive”.

Given this, the Court’s president’s assessment is that, when fulfilling their constitutional role, the courts are susceptible to criticism.

“The prestige and importance of a court cannot be measured in public opinion research. Because our role, the role of complying with the Constitution, means, to some extent, always displeasing someone”, he said.

“A The legitimacy of a court cannot be confused with the popularity of a court.”