Gilmar Mendes Accuses Fellow Justice of 'Secret Pact' in Federal Police Chief's Removal, Deepening STF Crisis

A major institutional crisis is roiling Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF), the nation's highest judicial body, after senior Justice Gilmar Mendes formally accused a colleague of engaging in an improper procedural maneuver to secure a politically consequential ruling. Mendes sent an official letter to Justice Luiz Fux, the president of the STF’s Second Panel, alleging a "prior understanding" (ajuste prévio) between Fux and Justice André Mendonça to fast-track the provisional removal of Federal Police Director-General Andrei Rodrigues. The public feud signals a new peak in the internal friction at the court, questioning the procedural fairness of decisions that directly impact the executive branch.

The core dispute stems from the September 8 ruling by the Second Panel that upheld Justice Mendonça’s unilateral decision to remove Rodrigues, an appointee of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, over allegations that the Federal Police had illegally surveilled Mendonça. In his letter, revealed this week, Justice Mendes outlined a rapid sequence of events suggesting the panel’s judgment was pre-arranged: Mendonça’s order was issued at 8:43 AM, the case was put on the panel’s agenda at 9:29 AM, and within minutes of the session starting at 10:00 AM, Fux and Justice Kassio Nunes Marques had voted to confirm Mendonça's ruling, forming a majority of three votes out of five.

Mendes argued that the rapid confirmation—with three votes cast almost immediately after he had requested a “vista,” or more time to study the case—was not communicated to all members and amounted to an improper coordination that compromised the deliberative process. The Provisional Measure, which was the target of the maneuver, remains in effect, meaning Federal Police Director-General Rodrigues remains removed from his post, with the executive director serving as the interim head.

The spat has become deeply personal and public. Following the procedural challenge, Mendes reportedly exchanged harsh messages over WhatsApp with Fux and Nunes Marques, accusing them of being "servile" and "submissive" to Mendonça. The episode highlights the intense political pressure and partisanship that now color the internal workings of the stf brazil court, where Justices are appointed for life and often rule on cases with direct implications for sitting politicians and the balance of power.

The decision has been challenged by the Attorney General of the Union (AGU), which called the removal a "grave injury to public and administrative order" that compromises the president's right to choose the head of the police force. The next step will be determined by how Chief Justice Edson Fachin handles the conflicting rulings and the explosive accusation of a "prior understanding," which could force a plenary session to re-evaluate the highly irregular procedure and the unprecedented removal of the Federal Police chief.