Lula taps Brazil's solicitor general for Supreme Court seat

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has appointed Solicitor General Jorge Messias to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court, the government said in a Thursday statement.

The seat is opening up after Justice Luis Roberto Barroso last week announced he was stepping down from the court, about eight years ahead of the deadline for his mandatory retirement.

The nomination for the 11-member high court, Lula's third during his current term, must still be approved by the Brazilian Senate.

Messias, 45, has worked for nearly two decades in Brazil's office of the solicitor general and has run the institution since the beginning of Lula's current term in 2023.

During that period, he won a Supreme Court case against Congress upholding a change to a financial transactions tax and argued the government's position in cases related to a 2023 attack on government buildings by supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro. Two Bolsonaro nominees serve on the court.

Lula chose Messias for the court vacancy over objections from some senators and Supreme Court justices, according to court and government sources, which could surface in Senate confirmation hearings.

The choice of Messias, a Baptist, is seen as a gesture to Brazil's evangelical Christian community, which has grown to 27% of Brazil's population in the most recent census.

The leftist leader is expected to run for re-election next year, and polls show that his approval ratings among evangelical voters are consistently below his average. Brazilian Catholics still make up a majority of the country, but their numbers have been declining for years.

Barring more early retirements, Messias will be Lula's last appointment to the Supreme Court during his term.

Lula previously tapped his former personal lawyer Cristiano Zanin and his former Justice Minister Flavio Dino for the high court. Two of his appointments from prior terms are still serving on the court.

If confirmed by the Senate, Messias could stay in the role until February 2055, when he turns 75.