Brazil's Federal Supreme Court has ruled that criminal proceedings underway in court will again be heard by the full court. Thus, the STF's second chamber will not be responsible for the Car Wash operation's cases. This part of the STF has imposed successive defeats on the operation.
The change is seen as the first victory for Luiz Fux, defender of the Car Wash task force, in front of the court - and, consequently, a setback for the court wing that challenges the prosecutors' methods.
Fux said he had forwarded the proposal to his colleagues' offices. Justice Gilmar Mendes, the main critic of Car Wash in the STF, said he was taken by surprise, but voted for the change, which was unanimously approved.
For a person close to the president of the STF, the strategy was a response to Gilmar and president Jair Bolsonaro, who began to oppose the operation with Sergio Moro's departure from the government and drew Fux in Kassio Nunes's appointment to court.
The initiative, however, increases the chances of requests for views, which can delay trials. And the plenary has already contradicted Lava Jato in several votes, such as the one that toppled the prison after an appeal.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon