By Ricardo Brito
BRASILIA, April 29 (Reuters) - Brazil's Senate on Wednesday rejected the nomination of Solicitor General Jorge Messias for an open seat on the Supreme Court, making President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva the first leader in more than a century to have a top court nominee rejected by Congress.
The chamber rejected Lula's nomination in a 42-34 vote, as backing from at least 41 of Brazil's 81 senators was required.
Lula's government in recent months assembled an unprecedented lobbying effort
to try to secure Messias' approval, after lawmakers initially reacted negatively to his November nomination by the leftist leader.
The choice had particularly angered Senate President Davi Alcolumbre, who pushed for a different person to replace Luis Roberto Barroso after the former justice stepped down about eight years ahead of the deadline for his mandatory retirement.
Messias, 46, 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.
"We have to accept it. The Senate is sovereign and has spoken. I appreciate the votes I received," Messias told journalists after the vote. A Senate committee had approved the nominee earlier in the day following a confirmation hearing.
CROSS-PARTY SUPPORT CAMPAIGN FAILS
Messias' nomination faced opposition from senators aligned with right-wing former President Jair Bolsonaro and some lawmakers close to Alcolumbre, who had backed former Senate head Rodrigo Pacheco for the role.
In recent weeks, Lula's team sought support from senators across the political spectrum, arguing that Messias could help ease tensions between Congress and the Supreme Court, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The choice of Messias, a Baptist, was also seen as a gesture to Brazil's growing evangelical Christian community, which accounts for 27% of the country's population.
On Monday, the president hosted a dinner with ministers, senators and state governors at his residence to press his nominee's case.
ELECTION TIMING INFLUENCES DEFEAT
Senator Randolfe Rodrigues, the government's leader in Congress, argued that Messias' rejection was influenced by the closeness to the country's next general elections, which will be held in October.
"The current mood is one of outrage against the Supreme Court under pressure from the electoral process," he said.
Brazil's Supreme Court has been at odds with some senators due to what lawmakers view as an interference with their duties. Opposition figures, in particular, also criticize the court's handling of Bolsonaro's coup plot case last year.
Opposition senators have said that the nomination for the Supreme Court's open seat should be left to the next administration, as they hope their preferred candidate, right-wing senator Flavio Bolsonaro, beats Lula in October.
Justices Cristiano Zanin and Flavio Dino, Lula's two other nominations for Brazil's top court in his third presidential term, were both approved by the Senate in 2023.
(Reporting by Ricardo Brito; Writing by Fernando Cardoso and Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Franklin Paul and Lincoln Feast.)
