As the saying goes, the calm comes before the storm. In Brazil’s Supreme Court, the current crisis came after a period of glory and renown.
In September 2025, the Supreme Court made history and became a global reference. Breaking with Brazil’s long tradition of impunity for military interference in politics, the court analyzed a wealth of evidence and convicted former President Jair Bolsonaro and top-ranking military officers for attempting a coup after losing the 2022 election.
That same month, Edson Fachin took office as the Supreme Court Chief Justice and quickly expressed his desire to create a code of conduct for members of the top court. Apparent conflicts of interest involving justices are common — and preventing them is also a way to strengthen the rule of law.
In December, however, the court was pulled into the swirling scandal involving Banco Master — a mid-sized lender that was liquidated amid suspicions of fraud involving billions of reais. The bank’s owner, Daniel Vorcaro, has ties to state governors, lawmakers, high-ranking executive personnel and justices, putting many people under suspicion across the political spectrum.
Late last year, the press revealed that the wife of Justice Alexandre de Moraes had signed a three-year contract with Banco Master worth BRL 129 million (USD 25 million) to work as a lawyer for the bank. The contract's value raised eyebrows.
Soon after, it became public that Justice Dias Toffoli, the rapporteur of the Master case, had recently traveled on a private jet to a football match with the lawyer of one of the bank’s former executives. That alone would already be inappropriate. But from there, the problems only piled up:
The justification for keeping the case in the Supreme Court was unconvincing
The evidence gathered in the investigation was placed under seal
Officials involved in shutting down the bank were put under pressure
And even the Federal Police saw its investigation work obstructed
More recently, the press reported that members of Toffoli’s family are linked to Vorcaro through a network of large investments made via financial funds. At the center of these dealings is a luxury resort in southern Brazil, frequented by the Supreme Court justice and his guests.
A political time bomb now seems to be ticking, right in the middle of an election year. And at the Supreme Court, Fachin’s push for higher ethical standards was suddenly put to the test.
To understand what’s at stake for Brazil’s highest court, our guest is Marjorie Marona, a political science professor at both the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro and the Federal University of Minas Gerais, and coordinator of the Observatory of Justice in Brazil and Latin America. Marona holds a law degree and a PhD in political science. In 2022, she was a visiting scholar at the University of Toronto.
She unpacks:
The lack of accountability at the Supreme Court
The autonomy of the Federal Police
The importance of a Code of Conduct for justices
What she thinks the court should do about Justice Toffoli
