To CNN, Barroso says that the impeachment of a STF minister means wanting to “expel a player from the team”
The president of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Luís Roberto Barroso, told the CNN Interviews which is contrary to the debate in the Senate on the possibility of impeachment of a minister of the Court.
Barroso compared the situation to a football match, in which a team prefers to send off an opposing player rather than continue with the game, within the rules.
“You have eleven players (the same number of STF ministers). Obviously, we have different positions, each one has their own strategy. It’s part of the game. But when one of the teams starts working to pull players from the other team, you have stopped playing and therefore don’t want to let the other team play. I think that impeachment is an undesirable element of the public debate, which is wanting to expel the player from the other team”, he said.
The minister makes the reservation that, in a democracy, no subject is taboo, even the discussion of amnesty for those convicted of January 8th. “It is legitimate for Congress to debate the big issues,” he stated.
Among the issues that Barroso also minimized are: mandate for STF minister and limits on monocratic decisions. But regarding prosecuting and impeaching a Supreme Court minister, the president of the court said he does not see the issue “very naturally”.
From amnesty to impeachment, the minister responded that the STF can reverse Congress decisions if considered unconstitutional – signaling that none of these controversial discussions should end in Congress, even if approved. “The Supreme Court has the role of interpreting and applying the Constitution. Yes, it can be assessed against the Constitution, if the Supreme Court finds that the act is constitutional. (But) if the Supreme Court finds it unconstitutional, the act is not valid. It’s also something that people often don’t understand”, he added.
O CNN Interviews airs this Saturday and Sunday at 6:30 pm. Exclusively, Barroso responded about the role of the STF, support for Alexandre de Moraes’ decisions, coup acts, pacification of the country and customs guidelines, among other topics.
