Joaquim Barbosa, the first and only black
justice to serve on Brazil's Supreme Court, has announced he will retire after
11 years on the bench. Despite rumors that he has political aspirations, the
judge best known for his role in investigating the mensalão scandal insists
that his only plans
for the future are to "watch the
World Cup in Brasilia, and then to rest."
Barbosa first made the
surprise announcement yesterday during
a meeting with lawmakers. In later remarks to the press, he touched on his role
in dealing harsh sentences to offenders in the landmark mensalão trial.
"This matter has been completely overcome," he told
journalists. "[The ruling] is out of my
life and hopefully will be out of yours. Enough of this issue."
In its coverage of the announcement today,
the Wall Street
Journal reports that Barbosa's
departure "is raising fears that his fight against graft will wane."
As legal expert Ivar A. Hartmann writes in
a column for O
Globo, Barbosa made a name for himself as a
crusading figure in the court for more than just the mensalão trial. He has
been a vocal champion of affirmative action programs, and played a key role in
establishing de facto recognition of
same-sex marriages in the country last
year. However, he has also seen his share of personal scandals. Hartmann points
out that he created a
limited liability company in Miami to
get around paying taxes, and is accused of using his
authority to target the wife of a journalist who
revealed excesses and irregularities in judicial salaries. Still, he argues
that none of this should detract from Barbosa's achievements.
Barbosa's popularity and his early
retirement -- the AP notes his term as chief justice would end in November, and the 59-year-old
is far from the mandatory retirement age of 70 -- has led analysts to speculate
that he intends to run for office eventually. But the judge has denied this,
saying there is
"no way" he could launch a
political career. Still, O Globo reports that the two main opposition presidential candidates
ahead of the October elections have publicly lamented his retirement, with
Eduardo Campos admitting that every political party in the country would like
to have him in their corner.
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