Brazil's Pioneering Chief Justice to Retire

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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